Head Coach Gatland has made four changes to that which so emphatically defeated the Azzurri in Round Three of the championship.

Mike Phillips replaces Dwayne Peel at scrum half, with the Scarlet taking a place on the bench, though Peel’s Regional teammate Stephen Jones retains the No.10 jersey following his display against Italy at the Millennium Stadium. James Hook starts once more from the bench, as does Sonny Parker.

Alun Wyn Jones returns from the injury picked up in the opening encounter against England to start in the second row. Front row changes see the return of hooker Huw Bennett and prop Adam Jones, with fellow 'hairbear' and namesake Duncan  taking a spot on the bench alongside Matthew Rees. Ian Evans replaces Deiniol Jones in the matchday 22 whilst Gareth Delve keeps his berth on the bench.

Meanwhile, Eddie O'Sullivan has named Shane Horgan in his starting line-up for the first time in this season's RBS Six Nations. The Irish Coach was forced to shuffle his matchday 22 following the news that both Geordan Murphy and Girvan Dempsey would miss the Croke park clash due to Achilles and hip injuries respectively.

Brian O'Driscoll will lead his side into this eagerly anticipated crunch match looking for a third win of the tournament following the impressive 34-13 defeat of Scotland in the previous round, a match in which new Ospreys signing Tommy Bowe notched a brace of tries. Bowe moves from the right wing to the left, with Rob Kearney switching from the left wing to fullback. Horgan takes Bowe's original position with Luke Fitzgerald taking a seat on the bench.