Where Ireland v Wales will be won and lost in Six Nations showdown as destroyer needs negating at all costs

Wales' Six Nations title defence finally begins in Dublin on Saturday afternoon.

But where is Saturday’s Six Nations opener against Ireland likely to be won and lost?

Rugby correspondent Simon Thomas casts an analytical eye over what lies in store at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

Given the attack-minded nature of the team Wayne Pivac has selected, it might seem a bit negative to start with defence.

But unless Wales manage to front up in that area, it is going to be a very long day in the Dublin office.

You know what’s coming from Ireland.

You saw it in the way they recorded that famous 29-20 victory over New Zealand in November.

It was triumph based on relentless and remorseless ball-carrying as they poured forward in wave after green wave until the All Blacks eventually cracked.

The stats from that game are truly enlightening and tell a clear story.

Ireland took the ball up 140 times, compared to 74 by the Kiwis, and made 782 metres against 479 by their guests.

When you are going forward to that extent and delivering that kind of yardage, there is only likely to be one outcome and so it proved.

Few, if any, teams in world rugby possess the ball-carrying clout the Irish do.

It’s not just the main men in the back row, like Caelan Doris and Jack Conan, either. It’s also the hard yard merchants in the front five, the likes of James Ryan, Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter.

Then you’ve got the midfield battering ram in Bundee Aki and the full-back returner in Hugo Keenan, who has rapidly become one of the first names on the team sheet.

The problem is there are just so many of them and they take it in turns to come at you. As above, relenting.

Knowing it’s coming is one thing, but stopping it is another matter altogether.

Last year,