Almost without notice, Ireland play Wales tomorrow knowing a win will bring home a Triple Crown - once a coveted target in Irish rugby but no longer regarded as anything special when achieved.
How times have changed when it is the Welsh who are propping up the table and looking set to be Wooden Spoon contenders while the men in green, while respecting the challenge from the home team in Cardiff, will now be setting their sights on a never-before-achieved three-in-a-row of Six Nations championships via the Grand Slam route. (The game will streamed in Peacock on Saturday morning. Kickoff, 9:15 Eastern.)
With the decision by former Lions Coach Warren Gatland to step down after the Italy defeat in Rome “by mutual agreement,” there will be a new voice over the men in red in Interim Head Coach Matt Sherratt - and we can expect a reaction despite the desperate plight of the game at club and national level in the principality.
That cautionary view was reflected in the Irish camp by former World Player Of The Year Josh Van der Flier when asked about the upcoming game on Saturday with a 2.30 afternoon kick-off.
Despite losing 14 games in a row, Welsh pride will be on the line in front of their local supporters - and the Ireland flanker has warned his teammates to expect a “different game” as a result.
“They are a very proud rugby nation and will be disappointed with how they've gone in the last while. Any time I've played any of their individuals, they've had a lot of quality throughout their team. It will be sad for them with Gatland going but Wales are always a tough team to play.
“The history and tradition and pride they take in playing for their country is huge so I'll be expecting nothing short of a big performance from them so we'll be prepping for that,” he stressed.
As he prepares himself for his 71st outing in an Ireland jersey, he made it clear that victory, and not margins of victory, was the first thing on his mind.
“I've played enough games now against teams where you don't expect much from them and they really put in a big performance. We're going to be expecting a different Wales to what we've seen recently. They've new coaching appointments as well so we'll be expecting a good Welsh team.”
With reference to wins already over England and Scotland, he stated:
“There's a Triple Crown up for grabs, focus on the next game is a great thing, we've a possibility to win a trophy. You always try to focus on the here and now and if you do get distracted it can lead to a bit of complacency. There's a lot of work to put in this week.”
Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby lives in Wales and has been linked with taking over the vacancy but Josh insisted: “I haven't heard anything about it, as far as we're concerned we're very lucky to have him here and hopefully it stays that way.”
A blow for new boss Sherratt is that he will have to plan without Saracens and former Lions full-back Liam Williams because of a knee injury.
