Wales vs Ireland: how to watch Six Nations 2023 fixture on TV - channel, live stream details, date, KO time

The Six Nations returns this weekend and will see Wales and Ireland kick-off their campaigns at the Millenium stadium in Cardiff. Warren Gatland has returned for a second spell leading Wales, replacing Wayne Pivac, and will hope restore them to their former glory, following a disappointing 2022 Six Nations which saw them lose to Italy in the final match of the tournament.

Gatland has previously led Wales to four Six Nations titles, three of which were Grand Slams, during his first term in charge between 2008 and 2019 and Irish prop Tadgh Furlong believes his side will face a very different battle from what they saw in 2022 with Gatland back in charge: “(Gatland) is incredibly clued in. He takes a good interest in the scrums, but a lot of it is just on tactics, getting the motion of it right, framing the week, he does it very, very well.

“I know the Welsh lads have huge amount of respect for him and he really gets the most out of those Welsh players. They really buy in,”

Here is all you need to know ahead of Wales vs Ireland’s Six Nations fixture...

When is Wales vs Ireland?

The two sides will meet on Saturday 4 February 2023 and the match is set to kick-off 2.15pm GMT at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Tickets for the fixture have sold out but fans have been advised to go to the Welsh Rubgy Supporter Exchange if they wish to sell or buy tickets.

How to watch Wales vs Ireland

The BBC will have all the coverage of the Six Nations. BBC One will begin their programme at 1.15pm ahead of the 2.15 start time and fans can tune in to the coverage on BBC iPlayer if they are unable to watch on TV.

Head to Head

Last year saw Ireland pull of a comprehensive victory over their opponents and the Welsh had to wait until the 73rd minute to get their first points on the board. The final scoreboard read 29-7 and it was the biggest victory of the competition.

Overall, a total of 133 matches have been played between the two sides with Wales winning 70 matches and Ireland winning 56. Wales last beat Ireland in February 2021, 21-1 at the Principality stadium. Wales would then go on to win the tournament.

Team news

Robbie Henshaw is currently a doubt for Ireland as he has not yet completed a full 80 minuts since October. The Irish centre is continuing to rehab a wrist injury after he underwent surgery at the end of November. However, captain Johnny Sexton and prop Tadgh Furlong are both expected to return from injury, their club Leinster has said.

As for Wales, Dan Biggar, Wyn Jones and Liam Williams are all set to return to the squad following injury problems and they will join four uncapped players in Warren Gatland’s 37-man squad.

Wales:

Forwards: Rhys Carre, Wyn Jones, Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake, Ken Owens, Bradley Roberts, Leon Brown, Tomas Francis, Dillon Lewis, Adam Beard, Rhys Davies, Dafydd Jenkins, Alun Wyn Jones, Teddy Williams, Taulupe Faletau, Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Justin Tipuric, Christ Tshiunza, Aaon Wainwright

Backs: Kieran Hardy, Rhys Webb, Tomos Williams, Dan Biggar, Rhys Patchell, Owen Williams, Mason Grady, Joe Hawkins, George North, Nick Tompkins, Keiran Williams, Josh Adams, Alex Cuthbert, Rio Dyer, Leigh Halfpenny, Louis Rees-Zammit, Liam Williams

Ireland:

Forwards: Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadgh Beirne, Jack Conan, Gavin Coombes, Caelan Doris, Tadgh Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier

Backs: Bundee Aki, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Keith Earls, Jamison Gibson Park, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, Jordan LArmour, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Garry Ringrose, Johnny Sexton, Jacob Stockdale