• Ireland v Wales, Six Nations, March 13

Kidney wary of Wales' fighting spirit

Ireland coach Declan Kidney talks to the media after announcing his side for the clash with Wales on Saturday © Getty Images

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Ireland coach Declan Kidney has warned his side to be on their guard when they tackle Wales at Croke Park on Saturday.

Wales have lost two of their three matches to date but each game has been a thrilling spectacle as they conceded large leads before mounting a stirring fightback with mixed success. And that never-say-die attitude makes the Welsh a formidable proposition according to Kidney whose side are looking to complete the second leg of a Triple Crown.

"Wales will be a lot like France in that any errors by our defensive line will be exploited," he said. "They're scoring a lot of points. They may have lost two but they're averaging more points than we are.

"We'll have to tighten up and match them in attack. The thing I really admire about Wales is that they play to the 80th minute. They did that last year in Cardiff - had that kick gone over we'd have finished the championship on eight points each and we'd have won on points difference. Two years earlier they put one over on us at Croke Park, which as a venue doesn't hold any fear for them."

Wales prevailed 16-12 in Dublin two years ago but are not expected to upset the defending champions in the penultimate match at Croke Park. Kidney has chosen to stick with the winning formula that showed tremendous character in accounting for England in a brutal Test at Twickenham. Geordan Murphy has retained his position at fullback even though fellow Lion Rob Kearney has been restored to full fitness after recovering from a knee injury. Kidney also ignored calls give either Tony Buckley or Tom Court a run at tight-head, instead keeping faith with John Hayes.

"We're trying to learn things about ourselves as a team. You have to balance bringing new fellas in with cohesiveness," said Kidney. "On the balance of play I felt we needed to give the cohesiveness we built up in the last game against England another run.

"Against Wales it can be more dangerous when we're in possession because if we break down, their counter-attack play is exceptionally good. But we must also retain the ambition to play."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.