The Irish players need to ignore any thoughts of a Grand Slam to survive 80 minutes in the Millennium Stadium. They are only marginally better than this Welsh team so a below-par performance will result in defeat. It's that simple.

It is strange that a Six Nations campaign begins with practically no pressure on the traditional giants. The French and English are the people most pleased with Ireland being weighed down by the tag of favourites.

Bernard Laporte is talking of using 35 to 40 players, like the All Blacks, but if he stays true to this assertion they will not feature.

It's also highly likely that England under Brian Ashton will have their act together.

In fairness, Brian O'Driscoll has accepted the favouritism issue with no argument. He just gets on with the job at hand, and that's what makes his leadership and comments this week so impressive.

As I mentioned in November, Brian has grown into the captaincy role.

In 2006 Wales were a shambles after the morally bankrupt decision to sack coach Mike Ruddock. There has been a silver lining since, with Gareth Jenkins - a man who has been primed for this role after 20 years of top-level coaching experience - reinstilling pride in the Welsh jersey.

Jenkins is a shrewd operator. He will have watched the Leicester match at Thomond Park, so expect Wales to attempt to nullify the pack's influence and run straight at Ronan O'Gara. Dwayne Peel will catapult the big guns down that channel all day. Again, just like Leicester did so effectively.

How should Ireland counter these tactics? More of the same from the autumn would be ideal. Cliche or not, they learned against South Africa and Australia that the best form of defence is attack.

Australia ran every thing in the first 20 minutes of the drawn game at the Millennium Stadium and threatened to smash the Welsh resistance, only to change tack by trying to defend their lead. If Ireland go to Cardiff and play snookers through the boot of O'Gara they'll lose.

My problem with this Irish team over the last two years is their lack of willingness to attack from deep positions. The November tactics changed this. Whether that was a coaching decision or the players doing it for themselves we'll never know. The bottom line is they must do it again.

If Eddie O'Sullivan tampers with the current style he'll spoil a winning formula. Their sense of adventure is what makes them a world-class outfit.

Regarding the scrum, alarm bells were ringing in the autumn and it was noted repeatedly in this column that a specialist coach was required to shore up Ireland's primary weakness.

The Irish tight five, four of whom are Munster men, were destroyed by the Leicester Tigers. There was no sinking of the scrum after engagement and a step back after contact was evident. The back five are not generating enough power to shunt the front row forward.

Gethin Jenkins and Chris Horsman were picked for one purpose: to create carnage at scrum time.

I might have put the kibosh on him but Paul Wallace would be an ideal technical advisor. He comes from the Roly Meates school of propping. Or someone like Jim Telfer has the knowledge to employ a remedial programme. Harsh, I know, but that's what is required. Ireland are falling behind the other leading nations. Already, there are four better scrums in the Six Nations: France, England, Wales and Italy.

If the Welsh can disrupt the scrum and halt the maul, which in contrast is a key Irish weapon, then serious problems will follow.

The Irish back row were nothing short of magnificent in November when Neil Best was way in front of Simon Easterby. The head-to-head in Ravenhill when Llanelli beat Ulster appears to have proved decisive.

In Easterby, O'Sullivan has a player he believes in. And vice versa. This type of relationship is hugely valuable to a coach. Still, it was a close call.

I was surprised to see Andrew Trimble switch wings when a player of the experience and current form of Geordan Murphy was available. Having said that, I have been impressed by young Trimble's Heineken European Cup displays. Shane Horgan's ability to power over the gain line regularly leads to space in the next phases. He'll be missed.

It's going to be a tight game. James Hook or Stephen Jones or both will kick their goals, but Ireland have a massive advantage in attack and defence in the 10-12-13 axis.

Expect O'Driscoll to run several decoy lines, like he did against Australia and South Africa in yet another example of his maturity as a player. Gordon D'Arcy has been a maestro every time he has taken the field this season. This, too, is great for Brian's all-round game.

Forget about the Slam. Forget about the Triple Crown. If this team focuses on avenging their 2005 defeat here, victory will follow. And, of course, attack whenever there is even a scent of space.