Round 3.

After last weekend’s bonus-point win over Italy at the Aviva, Ireland are now just two wins away from a potential Grand Slam clash against old rivals England at Twickenham.

Winning those two games though, will be no easy task, with Wales and Scotland set to land in Dublin for two mammoth clashes at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland have lost the services of Josh van der Flier and Robbie Henshaw for the duration of the tournament. But the good news is they look set to welcome Sean O’Brien and Garry Ringrose back, although the Wales game may come too soon for both of them.

That leaves Dan Leavy set to continue at openside, while Munster’s Chris Farrell should come in to replace Henshaw. If O’Brien is good to go though, he may be given a spot on the bench to get him some game time.

Other than that we don’t expect too many changes. Cian Healy and Jack McGrath is 50/50, with the former perhaps just edging it. Also expect James Ryan to come back in for Toner, and Stander to be restored to the starting line-up.

If fit, Andrew Conway should also end up with a spot on the bench against the Welsh.

Here’s the Ireland team we think should start against Wales.

15. Rob Kearney
14. Keith Earls
13. Chris Farrell
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray

1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best (c)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Iain Henderson
5. James Ryan
6. Peter O’Mahony
7. Dan Leavy
8. CJ Stander

Replacements:
16. Sean Cronin
17. Jack McGrath
18. Andrew Porter
19. Devin Toner
20. Sean O’Brien
21. Luke McGrath
22. Joey Carbery
23. Andrew Conway