Ireland centre Garry Ringrose is wary of the unknown ahead of facing Josh Adams in the Wales midfield in the Six Nations clash in Dublin on Saturday.
Wayne Pivac has switched Adams from out wide, where he has one all 36 of his international caps to date.
The problem for Ireland is that there is little footage available of Adams operating at centre.
He did figure there for Cardiff against Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup, but almost all his rugby since he moved back to Wales from Worcester has been played on the wing and Ringrose is mindful of his direct opponent this weekend taking an unorthodox approach in his new role.
“I guess there’s an element of unpredictability, maybe a fear factor, from that perspective,” he said.
“There wouldn’t be huge amounts of tape to watch of him playing at 13.
“There is that relationship between the 13 and the winger on how to defend, [but for], someone who can defend on the wing as well as he can, I’m sure there’ll be no problem for him in the centre.
“I suppose there’s that bit of fear factor of what to expect or to be ready for it, but I suppose that’s always the case.
“He knows his way to the whitewash, especially in the Six Nations, so it’ll be at the forefront of my mind to try to stop that.”
Injury-hit and shy of a huge amount of experience, Wales are being written off by bookmakers in Ireland. BoyleSports make Wayne Pivac’s side 13-2 to achieve victory this weekend, while Ireland are priced at 1/10.
Nonetheless, Ringrose classes Pivac’s team as “incredibly dangerous” and makes particular reference to their backs.
“The back three they have…Johnny McNicholl is someone I admire, with his ability to ball-play, his strength in the air, his attack and his reads in defence,” said the Leinster player.
“Then you have someone like Liam Williams with his experience, backing up what I said about McNicholl, who does the same.
“There’s Josh Adams in the centre, which has to be an unbelievably tough challenge from my perspective.
“Tomos Williams has to be one of the best attacking nines there is at the moment with his attacking kicking game and his sniping around.
“And then you have Dan Biggar. We all know how well he can control a ship.
“So in terms of the challenge we face it’s an unbelievably big one and if we want to be able to get the result we want we’ll have to be at our best.”
All this and no mention of Louis Rees-Zammit, arguably the most dangerous Welsh back of the lot.
But the youngster with searing pace crossed the whitewash against Ireland last season and showed he was in form with an 80-metre touchdown for Gloucester against Newcastle Falcons last weekend, a score that was special by any standard.
“He’s another name for whom we’ll have to be on red alert, not just if you’re in front of him but if you’re five or six guys away from him, because his ability to beat defenders is exceptional,” said Ringrose.
“You just have to be on red alert, ready for everything. Any attack, any kicks we put in will have to be spot-on.
“I also know Nick Tompkins from the under-20s.
“His footwork at the line and his ability to fight through the contact matched with his ball-playing ability — yep, it’s an unbelievably tough challenge ahead.”
Want the latest Welsh rugby news sent straight to you? Look no further.
