Ireland's quest for a third consecutive Six Nations title is off to the perfect start and their next game will see them face a Wales team in turmoil.
The Welsh have lost their last 14 straight games, an unprecedented streak in the modern era that has seen them slip below Georgia to 12th in the world rankings.
Their losing run has seen them cut ties with Warren Gatland, with the New Zealander exiting his role as head coach midway through the tournament.
Interim boss Matt Sheratt has the small matter of dealing with the visit of Ireland in his first game, in a hugely daunting prospect for the out-of-sorts Wales.
The game next weekend will mark a first in Six Nations history, with Ireland set to wear their change kit in a move to help colour-blind viewers differentiate between the teams.
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Ireland to wear white kit for trip to face Wales to aid colour-blind viewers
World Rugby guidelines came into effect at the beginning of 2025 that will require the visiting team to change their kit for Ireland v Wales in years to come.
Red-green clashes cause difficulties for colour-blind viewers (such as this author), and the rule change seeks to aid those fans in differentiating between the teams on the field.
The changes to World Rugby's guidelines were originally set to come into place for the 2027 World Cup, but were moved up to come into effect for the 2023 tournament. This change saw Ireland wear white when they faced Tonga (wearing red).
16 September 2023; Tadhg Beirne of Ireland on his way to scoring his side's first try during the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Ireland and Tonga at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
World Rugby later confirmed the changes would come into effect for all major tournaments from the beginning of 2025.
The change means Ireland will wear their white change strip for the trip to Cardiff's Principality Stadium on February 22, in what is surely a first in tournament history.
This should be a game-changing move for colour-blind fans. This author falls into said sub-category and can attest to the difficulty in telling the two teams apart historically.
Previous clashes between Ireland and Wales have come in for criticism in recent years, with both the IRFU and WRU persisting in wearing their home colours despite the negative impact on fans who suffer from colour blindness. Approximately 1 in 12 men suffer from the condition, and 1 in 200 women.
Balls.ie previously spoke to Kathryn Albany-Ward of Colour Blind Awareness in 2022 ahead of Ireland's clash with South Africa. Albany-Ward explained to us the importance of avoiding red-green clashes in Ireland v Wales in years to come.
They’ve certainly got form in terms of Ireland v Wales in the Six Nations and what they seem to be doing is passing off any of the responsibility onto the unions.
Then the unions will say, well, you know, we've got these kit deals. Why can't you vary the contract? It can't be in the best interests of Canterbury to get all this bad publicity. So surely they would also want to renegotiate.
You know, it's not beyond the wit of man, but obviously to me, I mean, it seems to be beyond the wit of Irish rugby and Welsh rugby to understand the negative implications on them of continuing to do it.
Thankfully, common sense has prevailed and Ireland will look very different taking to the pitch in Cardiff next Saturday.
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