Wales make one change for daunting Six Nations showdown at Ireland as fit-again Sam Costelow returns at fly-half – as head coach Warren Gatland insists his side have ‘made steps’ despite losing their opening two matches

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has insisted his team are ‘relishing’ the chance of taking on Six Nations grand slam champions Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

Andy Farrell’s Ireland – who claimed a Championship clean sweep in 2023 – are on course for more glory this year after opening with back-to-back wins over France and Italy.

Gatland is in charge of a youthful Wales side which has lost its two games with Scotland and England so far. It makes a trip to the Aviva Stadium particularly daunting.

Fly-half Sam Costelow is the only change to the Wales starting XV from the one which faced England at Twickenham. He returns to start at No 10 with Ioan Lloyd returning to the bench.

Gatland said: ‘We are excited to go out to Dublin and test ourselves against one of the leading sides in world rugby. It’s a challenge we are relishing.

Costelow is fit again after failing a head injury assessment during their defeat by Scotland

‘We’ve made steps in the last couple of games and now it’s about building on that, learning from those experiences, and taking that into this weekend.

‘It’s about continuing to work hard, looking for accuracy in our performance across 80 minutes, and also keeping our discipline.’

Costelow is the only specialist fly-half in the Wales squad so his return for Ireland is a boost.

He missed the England game after coming off against Scotland having failed a head injury assessment.

Among the Welsh replacements back-row Mackenzie Martin is in line to win his first senior cap and will become the 1,200th Wales men’s international if he takes to the field.

Tight-head prop Dillon Lewis will make his first appearance of this Championship if called on from the bench.

Flanker Tommy Reffell – who has had an outstanding Six Nations to date – continues in the back-row for the third straight game where he is joined by Alex Mann.

Warren Gatland says his Wales side are ‘excited’ to go to Dublin – despite their daunting task

Cardiff youngster Mann has scored tries in each of his two Test caps to date having come into this Six Nations as an international novice.

Ireland are set to name their side to face Wales on Thursday but are likely to be without star full-back Hugo Keenan due to a knee injury.

Ciaran Frawley is favourite to replace him in the green No 15 jersey.

Wales haven’t won a Six Nations game in Dublin since 2012. Ireland have tasted success in 17-straight home matches and have won 38 of their last 40 games in all competitions.