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John Jones

What time is Ireland v Wales kick-off today and what TV channel is it on?

Wales begin their defence of the Six Nations title with a trip to Dublin as they take on an in-form Ireland side at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Wayne Pivac's side face a big challenge in what is the opening game of this year's championship, having won just once in their last seven visits to Dublin. The men in green have been in fine form, too, having defeat New Zealand in the autumn.

Last year's meeting saw Wales launch a second-half comeback to beat Andy Farrell's side 21-16 in Cardiff, and Pivac will be hoping for a similar same result to kick off their title defence.

The Wales coach, who said his men have "everything to gain and nothing to lose", has named a strong matchday squad and handed Josh Adams a new role at outside centre, while in-form Connacht wing Mack Hansen is set to make his debut for the hosts.

Here is everything you need to know about the game:

What time is Ireland v Wales kick-off?

Ireland v Wales kicks off at 2.15pm on Saturday, February 5, at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

You can follow live Ireland v Wales score updates right here.

What TV channel is Ireland v Wales on? What about live streaming?

Live coverage of Ireland v Wales starts on ITV1 from 1.30pm and on S4C from 1.45pm.

In Ireland, RTE Two will show the game live, with their coverage starting at 1pm.

You will also be able to watch the match via live stream/app on the ITV Hub or S4C Clic.

What's the Ireland v Wales team news?

In-form wing Mack Hansen will make his Ireland debut on Saturday, with Andy Farrell selecting the Australia-born 23-year-old - whose mother is Irish - on the left flank in place of the injured James Lowe, following a string of standout displays for Connacht.

Tadhg Beirne will start in the second row ahead of Iain Henderson in the only other change to the team which began November's 29-20 win over New Zealand.

Ulster captain Henderson has not played since suffering an ankle issue playing for his province on December 17 and does not make the matchday squad.

Centre Robbie Henshaw also misses out, with fellow British and Irish Lion Bundee Aki given the nod to partner Garry Ringrose in midfield. Ulster's James Hume has been included on the bench ahead of Henshaw, and both he and fellow replacement Dan Sheehan could make their championship debuts.

Influential fly-half Johnny Sexton will once more captain his country on the occasion of his 102nd cap, while Jamison Gibson-Park is again preferred to Conor Murray at scrum-half.

Vice-captain James Ryan, who has not played for 10 weeks amid hamstring troubles, will partner Beirne in the second row.

Meanwhile, Wales coach Wayne Pivac has handed Josh Adams a new role, with the 26-year-old set to start a Test match at outside for the first time this weekend.

Pivac had hoped to deploy Adams in his new role during the autumn campaign but the plans were scuppered when 26-year-old pulled up with an injury in the warm-up against Fiji. However, he will now get the chance to run out one position in from his usual slot on the wing, having been picked ahead of Owen Watkin and Jonathan Davies.

Adams - who was the top try-scorer at the 2019 World Cup - is partnered in midfield by Saracens' Nick Tompkins, while there are also starts for wing Johnny McNicholl and flanker Taine Basham. Fellow flanker Ross Moriarty is named among the replacements and is poised to win his 50th cap after returning from a shoulder injury, while Ospreys hooker Dewi Lake, whose physicality has caught Pivac's eye, could make his Wales debut from the bench.

In the front five, the towering Will Rowlands partners vice-captain Adam Beard at lock, with Ryan Elias joined by Wyn Jones and Tomas Francis in the front row. Tomos Williams partners captain Dan Biggar at half-back with Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit and McNicholl making up a dangerous-looking back-three.

However, there is no place in the matchday 23 for centre Jonathan Davies, who was set to win his 100th Test cap when factoring in Lions appearances, while Willis Halaholo is out with a hamstring strain.

Ben Carter has also come in for Seb Davies in a late change to the bench after Davies was forced to withdraw due to a back spasm.

Pivac has also been dealt a fresh injury blow as Christ Tshiunza was ruled out of the entire Six Nations after suffering a hamstring injury in training on Tuesday.

Ireland: 15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Andrew Conway, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. Mack Hansen, 10. Johnny Sexton (capt), 9. Jamison Gibson Park, 1. Andrew Porter, 2. Ronan Kelleher, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Tadhg Beirne, 5. James Ryan, 6. Caelan Doris, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Jack Conan.

Replacements: 16. Dan Sheehan, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. Ryan Baird, 20. Peter O’Mahony, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Joey Carbery, 23. James Hume.

Wales: 15. Liam Williams; 14. Johnny McNicholl, 13. Josh Adams, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Louis Rees-Zammit; 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Tomos Williams; 1. Wyn Jones, 2. Ryan Elias, 3. Tomas Francis, 4. Will Rowlands, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Ellis Jenkins, 7. Taine Basham, 8. Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: 16. Dewi Lake, 17. Gareth Thomas, 18. Dillon Lewis, 19. Ben Carter, 20. Ross Moriarty, 21. Gareth Davies, 22. Callum Sheedy, 23. Owen Watkin.

Who is the Ireland v Wales referee?

Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)

Assistant referees: Mathieu Raynal (FFR) and Angus Gardner (RA)

TMO: Stuart Terheege (RFU)

What have the coaches said?

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac: "We’ve selected Josh Adams at 13. It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a while. He’s done it in training and in small doses at the end of a game. We think this is a golden opportunity to answer that question.

"Really pleased for Ross. He’s wrapped to be back in the match day 23 and I think it’s just really around game time at the moment. We think coming off the bench he’ll make an impact, so that’s why we’ve gone that way.

"Really happy for Dewi. He’s a big man, a very good rugby player. Strong over the ball and gives us something in defence as well as his attacking prowess.

"History in Dublin, it’s a hard place to go. There have been some great games in recent years against Ireland.

"They’re a very, very tough, very physical side. So we know we’re going to have to step up in that area of the game and make sure we do that for 80 mins. We’ve got to be very disciplined and as a result be in there fighting for the right result."

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