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By Ben Dirs

Full-time: Blistering encounter in Cardiff, and Ireland were probably good value for their win in the end. Good adventure from Wales, but they perhaps showed their inexperience in the second half. Not great from a nervy-looking Ireland, but the Grand Slam dream is still alive and they will no doubt grow stronger as the tournament rolls on.

80 mins: O'Gara this time finds touch. Ryan Jones with a bit of biffda and Wales have one final flourish, sending the ball wide, but Ireland's defence is rock-solid again. The ball goes loose and O'Gara hacks through, but Ryan Jones clear up. However, Hickie doesn't want this one to end and chips through, before Brew brings the game to an end with a kick to touch.

78 mins: Hickie clears his lines and it looks like Ireland are still on for the Grand Slam.

76 mins: Morgan breaking the line, as he has done all afternoon, but he knocks-on in the tackle. Advanteg Ireland before Hook coughs up the ball in the tackle. But O'Gara then shells the ball in front of his own posts. Took his eye off the ball, and the pressure is mounting.

74 mins: O'Driscoll off and Murphy on as his replacement. Ireland at Croke Park next week, he won't want to miss that one.

72 mins: Morgan almost over in the corner for Wales, the ball whipped down the line and Hickie making the saving tackle. A try now for Wales would make this interesting.

71 mins:Wales 9-19 Ireland
O'Gara goes over in the corner and Ireland look like they've got this wrapped up. D'Arcy it was with the initial break after some neat back-play and Hook is unable to hold the Irish fly-half up. O'Gara slots the extras from out wide. Ireland have shown a bit more nous in this second half.

69 mins: Hook has another kick charged down, this time by O'Gara - he wanted far too much time there. But Ireland cannot make anything of it. Sidoli on for Gough in Wales' second-row.

68 mins: Relentless stuff in Cardiff and there's very nearly a little bit of knuckles as O'Gara takes exception to replacement hooker Rees' cheap hit.

67 mins: Stout defence by Wales, just managing to hold up an Irish surge on the right flank. But how long can Wales keep them out? I'm not convinced they can. Leamy picks up at the base of the scrum but is held up again and Ireland's backs cough the ball up. However, Stephen Jones fails to find touch and Ireland have the ball back.

64 mins: Flannery on for Rory Best at hooker for Ireland. Bit of inexperience from Hook, or is it? The referee decided he had feigned to take his penalty clearance and allows O'Gara to hit him. Bit dubious, but Ireland get the scrum.

63 mins: Wales still probing out wide but Ireland's defence still smothering their work. O'Gara puts manners on a clearance to gain some territory.

61 mins: A scoreless third quarter but the game continues to bubble under and many of the players look out on their feet. Lovely from Peel with a cheeky up-and-under before Hook just pushes a drop-goal wide. Not too clever from Hook, he had options.

59 mins: Czekaj almost opens up the Ireland defence but his dinked pass to Popham is marginally forward. Brew on for Luscombe on the wing. Brew is an Ospreys players but is currently on-loan to the Dragons.

57 mins: Stringer tries to snipe down the blind-side but Wales turn the ball over and Peel clears his lines. Dempsey attempts an up-and-under but the ball drifts into touch. Ireland still making lots of errors.

55 mins: Duncan Jones is on for Horsman in the front row. Gethin Jenkins will move to tight-head.

54 mins: Hickie attempts the tap-penalty and it looked for a moment as if he'd knocked it on, but the replay suggests he didn't. O'Driscoll goes down and for a moment it looks serious, but he's up again in no time.

53 mins: O'Gara with the incisive break and his pass out to Hickie looks forward, but he gets away with it. Not sure how the linesman didn't see that.

52 mins: Wales' backs swing it left and perhaps it needed someone to straighten. Instead, Czekaj takes it into the tackle and Ireland come up with the ball.

50 mins: Gough back on after some treatment in the blood bin, and off goes Sidoli. The game becalmed slightly, but don't expect that to be the case for long.

47 mins: O'Gara finds form, sending a searching kick deep into Wales territory.

45 mins: Ryan Jones flips it up to Williams at the back of the scrum but the Wales flanker is turned and Ireland clear their lines.

43 mins: Sniping break from Peel but he is hauled down just short of the line. However, Ireland concede the penalty and Stephen Jones kicks to the corner. Fiery start by Wales, really sticking it to the Irish.

42 mins: Wales swing it wide and Czekaj darts down the left-flank and puts the grubber through. Easterby looks to have tackled the Wales left-wing without the ball and Ireland are very lucky not to concede a penalty try, or at least a penalty. Former Ireland great Keith Wood thinks it should have been a penalty.

41 min: Stephen Jones restarts the match and O'Gara finds good distance with his clearance.

1559: Players are back out and we are set for a barnstormer of a second half. Buckle yourselves in.

"Ireland are getting on top now. Wales had chances but they're going to have to think about making changes, maybe taking off Stephen Jones and moving Hook to fly-half."
Austin Healey in Cardiff

"O'Gara has been slack with his kicking, is being put under pressure and looks hesitant. He won't be best-pleased with his first-half performance."
Jeremy Guscott on BBC One

"The Irish front five have barely been seen in the whole game, the reason being that the game has been behind them."
Keith Wood on BBC One

Half-time: Superb first half, and at two tries to nil you'd think Ireland fully deserve to be in front. However, the score doesn't tell the whole story, with Wales showing more adventure and just edging out Ireland in the territory and possession stakes. Hook showing some good distribution skills, and O'Driscoll showing his sheer class at key moments.

40 mins: Peel gets the ball from the back of a scrum and gently kicks the ball into touch to bring a pulsating first-half to a close.

38 mins: Wales try to stretch the Ireland backline but Luscombe can only tuck the ball back inside to an Irish player as the clock ticks towards half-time.

35 mins: Five stitches for Hickie, looked far worse than it was, and Ryan Jones is also back on after some treatment.

32 mins:Wales 9-12 Ireland
Ireland hit back against the run of play, Murphy collecting his own Garryowen, Stringer sending it back towards the right flank and O'Driscoll dancing past Morgan and Czekaj, stretching and touching down. Vintage O'Driscoll, there was only going to be one winner there. O'Gara with a fine conversion from the touch-line.

31 mins: O'Gara sends a mammoth kick deep into Wales territory and Hook watches it dribble into touch. Not sure the Irish fly-half meant it, but Ireland will take that.

30 mins: O'Gara, being pressured by Peel and the Wales back-row, is having a pretty ordinary game at the moment. Ryan Jones is off with an eye injury, replaced by Gavin Thomas.

28 mins: Murphy is on for Hickie, who must be getting stitched up in the dressing room.

26 mins: Stunning handling from Wales, Hook shredding the Ireland midfield before lovely interplay between Williams, Jones and Popham. Peel knocks-on, but the Ireland defence is all at sea here and hanging on for dear life.

23 mins:Wales 9-5 Ireland
Wales really throwing caution to the wind here, Hook setting up another sweeping move before Morgan very nearly punches through the Ireland defence. Hickie looks like something out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he's absolutely pouring blood from head. But Ireland concede another penalty in front of their posts and Stephen Jones slots it over. Compelling stuff.

21 mins: Breathtaking start to this match - lots of adventure, lots of running rugby and plenty of craft.

18 mins:Wales 6-5 Ireland
Infringement by Ireland, and Wales have weathered the storm, Stephen Jones kicking the three points to give his side the lead.

16 mins: Morgan with a cheeky take and chip-through before he slips it inside to prop Horsman. Horsman, however, is absolutely munched by O'Driscoll. Like getting hit by a Smeg fridge-freezer.

14 mins: Wales infringement and O'Gara has a go, but he drags it well wide from 47m out. Perhaps slightly out of his range.

12 mins: Chunky kick from Hook from behind his own goal-line relieves the pressure for a moment.

10 mins: Ireland nearly get their second try, Hickie seeing a chink on the blind-side but his pass going to ground with teh try-line beckoning. D'Arcy with a bullocking charge and hand-off in the build-up.

8 mins:Wales 3-5 Ireland
Penalty for Wales, Easterby kicking the ball out of Peel's hand at the base of the scrum, and Stephen Jones slots it. Some good, sweeping play in the run-up, Robinson showing good hands with an inside pass to Stephen Jones.

6 mins: O'Driscoll with two bits of poor play, first a dodgy kick and then a shelled catch. Luscombe on the charge, but he gets turned in the tackle when he should have been stronger.

4 mins: First bit of adventure from Wales, Robinson straightening the backline and putting in the grubber. But full-back Dempsey smothers well.

3 mins: The be fair, Czekaj's pass was partly to blame for the try, putting Stephen Jones under a fair bit of pressure. D'Arcy is down with an injury now, but he drags himself to his feet.

1 min:Wales 0-5 Ireland
The referee is Kiwi Kelvin Deaker and it's O'Gara with the kick-off. Ryan Jones gathers, sets it up and Stephen Jones sticks it straight back down Leamy's neck. Ireland break the deadlock after 49 seconds, Stephen Jones' kick charged down by O'Driscoll and Rory Best touching down. O'Gara misses the extras, but it's a disastrous start for the home side.

1459: Ireland's Call booms out and it sounds like the whole of the Millennium Stadium are joining in. Lovely anthem that. And it's the delightful Katherine Jenkins on the mic for Land of my Fathers - I'd like to kiss her, she really is a smasher.

1456: Ireland emerge from the tunnel to generous applause from the Welsh faithful and fall into a huddle. Then come Wales, led out by skipper Stephen Jones. Looking a little bit red-eyed Jones, maybe a few tears shed in the dressing room.

"I think Wales will be our toughest match. If Ireland play well today and don't make silly mistakes, they should be good."
Paul Breen, Japan, via e-mail

"It's men against boys in the centres. There's no experience in the Wales midfield and lots of it in the Irish one."
Jeremy Guscott on BBC One

"The game will be won in the centres. If you can put pressure on fly-half O'Gara and prevent any decent ball getting out to the centres, Wales will have a chance. O'Gara doesn't handle pressure that well."
Austin Healey on BBC One

"Ireland are the big favourites but you have to believe in yourselves and we believe we can beat anybody on our day."
Gareth Jenkins, Wales coach

"The reason the expectation is so high is because if Ireland play to the top of their abilities, they can win the Grand Slam. But they have to be aggressive."
Keith Wood on BBC One

"In years gone by we might have been a bit more averse to being called favourites, but now we have experience on our side."
Ireland skipper Brian O'Driscoll

"The crucial area for me is the back-row. Wales have two number eights and Easterby could have a field day on the ground for Ireland."
Jonathan Davies on BBC One

"Phil Bennett was just lavishing praise on Jonny Wilkinson - come on Phil, we all want to move on! The proper tournament starts today!"
Sean Davies, BBC Sport in Cardiff

1441: Big day for Wales phenom Hook, and D'Arcy is exactly the sort of player to test yourself against on the big stage.

1438: The male voice choir is slipping into second gear now, like a vintage Rolls Royce Phantom opening its legs down the A127. Is that enough mixed metaphors for you?

"The Clandeboye Naughty Boys have not been heard of since leaving Belfast on Saturday morning - thinking about you as I sit in Atlanta listening to the BBC. Have a great day."
Rich, Atlanta via e-mail

"Working off the east coast of India on a survey vessel. We have French, English and Irish on board - guess who we're shouting for today? Come on Ireland!"
The boys from the CGG Harmattan via e-mail

"Had a bet with a Welsh colleague - 20 Malaysian Ringgit - I said England would finish higher than the Welsh in the Six Nations table. He bit my hand off. Come on the Irish. Anyone else want a big money wager?"
Iain Ruck via e-mail

"The Royal Welsh band and the male voice choir are out - and of course the goat, whose name escapes me. Look, it's a cliche, but it's the Six Nations - and I love it!"
Sean Davies, BBC Sport in Cardiff

1430: David Pickering, former Wales flanker and now WRU chairman, is hobnobbing with royalty down in the bowels of the Millennium Stadium. Prince William, for once not falling out of some big posh London nightclub or other, is looking pretty fly in his navy suit. I'd wager he didn't pick that up off the peg at Cecil Gee.

"Wales have now cleared the pitch, but the Irish are still out here warming up. Their fans have been all over the city since early in the week, causing mayhem in the local hostelries - I actually doubt whether many of them made it home from when Munster won the Heineken Cup last year..."
Sean Davies, BBC Sport in Cardiff

"Wales replacement Ceri Sweeney is giving a flawless display of goal-kicking in front of me, but there�s not much pressure in front of an empty stadium - everyone's diving into the bars of St Mary's Street for one last pint before the anthems."
Sean Davies, BBC Sport in Cardiff

"Just wanted to say hello from South Dakota, USA, where it's 8am and the temperature outside is -26C. Wish I had a seat in the Millennium Stadium and a little flask of something to make me warm inside. Go Wales!"
Bryn Chivers via e-mail

1415: Remember to send those texts and e-mails in before and during the match and we'll endeavour to post a selection of the best of them.

1402: Wales lead Ireland 61-43 in head-to-heads, with six draws. But since 1995, things have been very different, with Ireland leading 10-3.

1400: Afternoon everybody. This one has the makings of a crackerjack encounter, despite the fact that Ireland have won all but one of the last seven meetings. Wales have a youthful look about them, with Hook, Wyn Jones and Czekaj in the starting line-up, and should at the very least compete. However, if I was a betting man, I'd be sticking my money on Ireland, who have looked every bit like the second best team in the world of late. But can they cope with the favourites tag?

Wales: K Morgan; Luscombe, J Robinson, Hook, Czekaj; S Jones (capt), Peel; G Jenkins, R Thomas, Horsman, Gough, Wyn Jones, Popham, M Williams, R Jones.
Replacements: Rees, Duncan Jones, Sidoli, Gavin Thomas, Phillips, Sweeney, Brew.

Ireland: Dempsey; Trimble, B O'Driscoll (capt), D'Arcy, Hickie; O'Gara, Stringer; Horan, R Best, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, S Easterby, D Wallace, Leamy.
Replacements: Flannery, S Best, N Best, M O'Driscoll, I Boss, P Wallace, G Murphy.