AT Leopardstown this afternoon, five miles south of the Aviva Stadium, Wounded Warrior will be among the horses to go for glory in the Irish Gold Cup.

That was an apt name for Wales at the World Cup last year but when they get their Six Nations campaign under way tomorrow it will be their hosts in Dublin who have the lengthy injury list.

Despite a build-up in which Warren Gatland the Irish head into the tournament as favourites, the heat and expectation is on Wales tomorrow.

At England 2015 they were the ones down to the bare bone but Dublin 2016 sees them not only going up against a side shorn of talisman Paul O'Connell, who has retired from Test rugby, but a raft of injured influential figures.

Props Cian Healy and Mike Ross, lock Iain Henderson, flankers Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony and Chris Henry, wings Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald and full-back Rob Kearney will either be watching on from the stands or on RTE.

Ireland are still able to field a pretty handy side but the lengthy list of absentees relieves them of any pressure and heaps it on the visitors, who have travelled with a settled and vastly experienced side.

Gatland's 23-man squad contains a whopping 943 caps, 364 of which are on the bench in case things are going wrong.

They have headed over the Irish Sea knowing that it is an opening Test that will set up the whole campaign; repeat their 2012 success and they will fancy their chances of the title, and perhaps even another Grand Slam as they managed in the last two tournaments following World Cups.

Failure to win at the Aviva Stadium will leave them unable to claim the Triple Crown but it won't be terminal to their hopes of topping the pile come March 19, it will just mean that they have to beat all three blue nations in Cardiff and repeat their World Cup success at Twickenham.

The turnaround to Scotland is swift but the bruises won't be of as great concern after a victory and, as ever when taking on the men in green, the pack must stand tall.

Lock Luke Charteris will be key in the defence of the driving lineout, young props Rob Evans and Samson Lee need to be solid in the scrum.

The carrying must be shrewd against a nation that still loves a choke tackle while the tackling needs to be accurate against their hosts, who even without O'Brien and Healy possess strong runners.

Last year's tournament finished with try-fests at the Stadio Olimpico, Murrayfield and Twickenham but it will be tighter at the Aviva Stadium, so Wales simply have to take their chances.

They failed to do so against the Aussies and Springboks at the World Cup but are boosted by the return of outside centre Jonathan Davies while attack coach Rob Howley talked excitedly about Tom James ahead of the Cardiff Blues speedster's return to the Test scene.

"There is an X factor about him, his ability to beat a player, and he has matured as a player," said Howley.

"We are looking forward to watching him play given the clinical and effective way he has played in the side channels for Cardiff Blues. That is the challenge for every player to transfer their regional form to the international arena."

Yet it's his ability under the high ball and when part of the kick chase that will be key against the Irish, who are especially strong in that department under grey Dublin skies.

The expected tricky conditions mean we are unlikely to spend the afternoon marvelling at flanker Justin Tipuric in the wide channels but the Ospreys openside is no mug when it comes to the graft that you expect of a man with 7 on his back.

Even as we prepare for life without Gethin Jenkins, who is among the replacements, Wales have the players who can win the breakdown battle.

Everything points to a Welsh win and some are even predicting a relatively comfortable one. I tip an away win to start the tournament but fancy that it'll be another nail-biter… but the words of Gatland could also be prudent come 5pm tomorrow.

"One of the things about the Irish is that they would like to go in with people writing them off," he said. "You write an Irish team off at your peril."

Ireland: S Zebo, A Trimble, J Payne, R Henshaw, K Earls, J Sexton, C Murray, J McGrath, R Best (captain), N White, D Toner, M McCarthy, CJ Stander, T O'Donnell, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin, J Cronin, T Furlong, D Ryan, R Ruddock, K Marmion, I Madigan, D Kearney.

Wales: G Anscombe, G North, J Davies, J Roberts, T James, D Biggar, G Davies, R Evans, S Baldwin, S Lee, L Charteris, A W Jones, S Warburton, J Tipuric, T Faletau. Replacements: K Owen, G Jenkins, T Francis, B Davies, D Lydiate, L Williams, R Priestland, A Cuthbert

Referee: Jerome Garces (France)