Wales team to play Ireland: 2023 Six Nations

Joe Hawkins makes his Six Nations debut at inside center, after winning his first senior cap against Australia in the autumn. He joins Wales' most-capped back George North in the midfield.

The front row features props Gareth Thomas and Tomas Francis with captain Ken Owens, and the tight five is completed by Alun Wyn Jones and Adam Beard.

The back row consists of Jac Morgan at blind-side flanker, Justin Tipuric at open-side flanker and Taulupe Faletau at No. 8. Fly half Dan Biggar returns to the Wales XV after missing the Autumn Nations Series due to injury. Scrum half is Tomos Williams.

Full back Leigh Halfpenny starts for the first time since the summer of 2021, having appeared as a replacement against Georgia in November. The wings are Rio Dyer and Josh Adams.

Scroll down for the full Wales team to play Ireland.

“We’ve picked Joe at 12. He’s a lovely footballer with some great skills. I thought for his first cap he was outstanding so we’ve given him another opportunity. There’s some real competition in the midfield at the moment, so I’m really excited about that.

“Ireland are the number one team in the world, so they’re going to be coming here with a lot of confidence. You don’t become the number one team in the world without having some pretty consistent performances. We know how good they are and we’re expecting a really tough contest. It’s important for us that we start well, but we need to be in the game at the last 20mins.

“We’ve only had a couple of weeks together but I’m confident that the guys will go out and give a good account of themselves. They’re pretty excited about playing this first game at home.”

The two sides will meet on Saturday 4 February 2023 and the match is set to kick-off 2.15pm GMT at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Tickets for the fixture have sold out but fans have been advised to go to the Welsh Rubgy Supporter Exchange if they wish to sell or buy tickets.

The BBC will have all the coverage of the Six Nations. BBC One will begin their programme at 1.15pm ahead of the 2.15 start time and fans can tune in to the coverage on BBC iPlayer if they are unable to watch on TV.

15. Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets – 97 caps)

14. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 43 caps)

13. George North (Ospreys – 109 caps)

12. Joe Hawkins (Ospreys – 1 cap)

11. Rio Dyer (Dragons – 3 caps)

10. Dan Biggar (Toulon – 103 caps)

9. Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 40 caps)

1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 17 caps)

2. Ken Owens (Scarlets – 86 caps) captain

3. Tomas Francis (Ospreys – 67 caps)

4. Adam Beard (Ospreys – 41 caps)

5. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys – 155 caps)

6. Jac Morgan (Ospreys – 6 caps)

7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys – 89 caps)

8. Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff Rugby – 95 caps)

Replacements

16. Scott Baldwin (Ospreys – 34 caps)

17. Rhys Carre (Cardiff Rugby – 17 caps)

18. Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby – 45 caps)

19. Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs – 1 cap)

20. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 4 caps)

21. Rhys Webb (Ospreys – 36 caps)

22. Owen Williams (Ospreys – 3 caps)

23. Alex Cuthbert (Ospreys – 55 caps)

Meet the BBC and ITV presenters and pundits who will front the Six Nations 2023 TV coverage in the UK, with all 15 matches shown live across the two channels.

Kicking off a massive year of rugby union on ITV - with the Rugby World Cup to be exclusively screened on ITV1 and ITVX in the Autumn - the channel will show ten live matches throughout the six weeks of the Six Nations.

They include mouth-watering clashes including the tournament finale Ireland v England at the Aviva Stadium, England v France on March 11, and a clash of the pre-championship favourites Ireland v France on Feb 11.

This year's tournament marks the latest in a deal between ITV and the BBC that sees 6 Nations matches shared between both broadcasters on television and online with ITV's matches aired on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.

Leading ITV’s team will be presenters Mark Pougatch and Jill Douglas, joined by Jonny Wilkinson and Lawrence Dallaglio, members of England’s victorious Rugby World Cup 2003 team, along with their coach Sir Clive Woodward, England Women World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi, former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, fellow former Irish skipper Rory Best, former Wales captain Gareth Thomas, Welsh legend Jamie Roberts, former Scotland and Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan, former Scottish international Jim Hamilton, Australia's most-capped player George Gregan, and former French forward Benjamin Kayser.

Martin Bayfield will combine presenting duties with his role as reporter, alongside reporter Gabriel Clarke. Joining them with a wealth of experience in the commentary box will be Nick Mullins and Miles Harrison, plus co-commentators Shane Williams, Gordon D’Arcy, Ben Kay, Scott Hastings, David Flatman and Danielle Waterman.

Every match will be simulcast live on ITVX, and our responsively designed 6 Nations site – itv.com/six-nations – will help bring the tournament to life with all the latest news and highlights of all games.

Sat 4 Feb - England v Scotland - coverage starts on ITV1 at 4pm with a 4.45pm kick-off

Sun 5 Feb - Italy v France, ko 1500, transmission from 1415-1730

Sat 11 Feb - Ireland v France, ko 1415, transmission from 1330-1630

Sun 12 Feb - England v Italy, ko 1500, transmission from 1415-1730

Sat 25 Feb - Italy v Ireland, ko 1415, transmission TBC

Sun 26 Feb - France v Scotland, ko 1500, transmission TBC

Sat 11 Mar - Italy v Wales, ko 1415, transmission TBC

Sat 11 Mar - England v France, ko 1645, transmission TBC

Sat 18 Mar - France v Wales, ko 1445, transmission TBC

Sat 18 Mar - Ireland v England, ko 1700, transmission TBC

Gabby Logan will lead live coverage across TV and BBC iPlayer as the six teams compete for glory.

Gabby will be joined by a host of former Rugby Union stars including Martin Johnson, Sam Warburton, John Barclay and Tommy Bowe. On BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra, pundits include World Cup winners Matt Dawson, Katy Daley-McLean and Paul Grayson, Lions captain Sam Warburton, Lions stars Tom Shanklin and Denis Hickie, and former Scotland captain John Barclay. The BBC pundits will provide analysis, informed discussion and home nation expertise across TV and radio.

Andrew Cotter will lead on TV commentary throughout the tournament and will be joined by co-commentators Jonathan Davies and Chris Paterson. For radio, commentary will be led by BBC’s Rugby Union Correspondent Chris Jones and Sara Orchard.

For TV and BBC iPlayer, refereeing royalty Nigel Owens will provide an official’s perspective at key points during games and Sonja McLaughlan and Lee McKenzie will be pitch side for every game, bringing viewers the latest developments as they happens on and off the field.

The returning Rugby Special will be hosted by Ugo Monye, with Sara Orchard and Alastair Eykyn’s commentary featuring in the programme and BBC highlights generally.

One noticeable absentee from The BBC line-up is Brian Moore, who was axed following the 2022 Six Nations.

With the recent broadcast deal announcement and the BBC getting fewer games, and none of England’s home ones – plus any number of commentators and presenters to accommodate – it’s not easy.

“I can understand it. The BBC has a regional remit. So when they’ve got Scotland and Wales home games people want to hear from a local co-commentator.”

Moore has been the only causality, with Jeremy Guscott also stepping down from his punditry role to “focus on other business interests”.