Beirne: It’ll Be No Different Next Week – Same Mood, Same Goals

Wales may be bottom of the table after three rounds, and on a 14-match losing streak in the Championship, but as they showed during the opening hour against Scotland last time out, they are beginning to find their way under Steve Tandy who has only been in charge since September.

The Welsh side have been strong starters, scoring half of their 42 points so far inside the opening quarters of their matches. Notably, four of their five tries have originated from tap penalties, and Josh Adams, the 2021 British & Irish Lion, and Rhys Carré have both touched down twice.

Exeter Chiefs lock Dafydd Jenkins is having an impressive Six Nations campaign, standing out as the top tackler (55) and the player with the most attacking ruck arrivals (98). He was the 2025 tournament’s second leading tackler, behind his captain Jac Morgan, who is currently out injured.

Beirne feels Tandy’s charges will come to Dublin with renewed confidence and even more of a point to prove after going so close to beating Scotland at the Principality Stadium. They will also have been boosted by wins for Cardiff and the Ospreys against Irish opposition this weekend.

Speaking ahead of Friday night’s clash at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 8.10pm), he said: “Wales are much like us, in that we are improving game on game, and they’ve been improving game on game, I believe.

“I think a lot of the scorelines against the teams they’ve played against have probably not painted them in the best picture in terms of how well they played in parts of those games.

“You know, they’re just chasing down a better 80-minute performance. They were very close to getting the win against Scotland obviously, and I think that performance is going to give them a lot of confidence coming in against us.

“We’ll have a little bit of a focus on Wales, but our focus is really on us getting better each game, and we’ll be ready for their improvement in performance as well.”

Ireland have a proud recent record against Wales that they are determined to maintain. They have won the teams’ last four Six Nations meetings, matching their best run in this fixture from 2001 and 2004, and have never won five in a row against the Welsh in Championship history.

A year on from winning the Triple Crown in Cardiff, Andy Farrell’s men come into this rematch on a massive high after a record away win over England. In addition, the Aviva Stadium has been a real fortress for them against European opposition, with 22 victories in 24 such home games since 2019.

It is all about backing up last week’s five-try display as they look to continue on an upward curve and leave themselves with something to play for against Scotland in the final round. That could be another Triple Crown and a second place finish, or more if current leaders France slip up.

Delighted with how well his team-mates performed in Twickenham both individually and collectively, Beirne agreed: “It was up there with one of the best (Irish performances) I’ve been involved with, for sure. There’s a few World Cup ones that stick out in my mind, and obviously over in New Zealand and that.

“Any of those away games, sometimes they’re a bit extra special to get those big victories because it’s an extra challenge, you know, going away from home.

“I think there was a bit of pressure on us as a team as well, going into last week. But I think everyone, to an individual, performed and that’s what was most pleasing.

“It will be no different this coming week. Same mood, same goals, getting a better performance against Wales and that is what we’ll be chasing.”

A battle-hardened international player of almost eight years, with two Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours under his belt, the Kildare man knows only too well how difficult it can be to back up what the Irish squad achieved in London.

He is well used to the cut and thrust of Test rugby, where consistent results are paramount for your standing on the global stage, and how teams are viewed from the outside looking in can effectively change in as short a time as a week or two.

Ireland and Scotland registered two wins out of two after making losing starts to 2026 with less-than-impressive performances, while England, much-fancied before the Six Nations, have gone the other way. France are unbeaten, but still have to travel to Edinburgh, and then host a wounded English side.

It means the two closing rounds should be a fascinating watch, with the title race not over until it is over. To put some pressure back on France and Scotland, the two teams currently above them in the table, Beirne and his team-mates must pocket the full five points against an improving Welsh outfit.

Asked about building on the momentum gained from the performance against England, he replied: “Yeah, I suppose after any good performance, there’s always that chat. You can’t just pat yourselves on the back and think it’s going to happen again, you know?

“You have to focus on what went well, bank it, and then also focus on what to improve on, because there is no point in saying, ‘Oh, it was a good performance, we’ll just do it again next week’.

“It doesn’t work like that. You have to work incredibly hard to get those performances. It will be no different next week.

“We’re going to have to work incredibly hard to put in a good performance, but we don’t want to just put in a good performance. We want to get better, and that’s the challenge.”

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