Song contest: Rugby anthems a call to arms or moment for reflection

Just after 2pm this afternoon, Johnny Sexton will lead Ireland out against Wales and a man bursting with the pride of representing his country has to find the right balance between emotion and dispassion.

Fire in the belly, ice in the mind.

"You are trying to think about the first play but it is an emotional time," the captain told RTÉ Sport this week when asked about standing for Amhrán na bhFiann and Ireland's Call.

"You are standing in front of your country and everyone is watching you.

"Your family and friends are right in front of you, you can see them, you can pick them out in the crowd.

"It can be a very emotional time so it can be a challenge to focus on the first play and sometimes you need to feed off the emotion.

"Other times you need to stay calm and think about the first moments of the game. It’s a mixture of all those things really."

Sexton’s opposite number today is Dan Biggar, who also captains the visitors in the absence of Alun Wyn Jones.

He'll win his 96th cap and admits that how he has dealt with Land of our Fathers over his 12-year international career has changed.

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau won’t have the same resonance as it does in a packed Principality Stadium, and Biggar admits part of his brain will be in game mode.

"Certainly, when I first started it was more so about the real excitement, and the real passion and energy, picking up off the crowd and the enormity of singing the anthem in front of 70,000," he said.

"Not that any of that has changed in terms of passions and excitement, I actually spend a little more time during that anthem now thinking about where the first kick-off is going to go.

"It gives me five or ten minutes when the anthems are going on to gather my thoughts and tick everything off from a