NOW it gets serious, as if Wales against England wasn't of course, but the Irish game in the Six Nations has been getting more and more feisty in recent years.

Saturday at the Millennium Stadium promises to be no different with both sides having an outside chance of winning the title.

Whether rivalries have grown and festered through increasing opposition via the Magners League or whether it's down to hangovers from previous meetings at international level, the Wales-Ireland game has grown ever more hostile.

Often it's been the crucial fixture of the Six Nations with one side or the other chasing the Grand Slam or Triple Crown with each taking it in turns to succeed at the other's expense.

In 2008 Wales won the Triple Crown by beating the Irish at Croke Park when somehow Martyn Williams avoided the red card after one of the most notorious trips of this or any other era.

It was the first time Wales had been 'crowned' in Ireland for 20 years and they achieved it on their first visit to Croke Park, home of Gaelic football. The Welsh team went on to beat France at the Millennium Stadium to win the Grand Slam for the second time in three years.

The following season Ireland turned the tables, and in some style when they came to Cardiff for the final game and in a clash of great drama won it at the death through a Ronan O'Gara dropped goal, Stephen Jones just missing a last ditch penalty, to win the Grand Slam. It was only the second time they had done it in their history, the other occasion being 61 years previously and, needless to say, the victory sparked great scenes of jubilation from the men in green on the pitch and on either side of the Irish Sea.

The economic recession which has affected Ireland badly may have dampened enthusiasm a bit as people concentrate on more basic things like earning a living or simply surviving, but sport remains a great outlet and none more so than rugby between these great Celtic rivals.

It's been the same at regional level. Last season the Ospreys stormed the Leinster RDS fortress in Dublin for the inaugural Magners League play-off final and won to become champions.

And this season it's two Welsh and two Irish teams battling it out for the play-off places, with Munster, Leinster, the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues holding the top four places and looking likely to contest those play-offs.

And when the competitiveness is that close and that intense things often tend to boil over. The Irish have, shall we say, their aggressive tendencies and they have conceded a rash of penalties in their three games so far, especially last time out at Murrayfield when the Scots got all their 18 points through the boot.

Many of the penalties were for technical offences, especially at scrum time, so it wouldn't be fair to lumber Ireland with being a dirty side, but full on for sure, with their back row of Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip and David Wallace one of the most physical around.

Their match-up against the expected unchanged Wales trio of Dan Lydiate, Ryan Jones and Sam Warburton is expected to be one of the features of the games. Wales, too, have given away more than their share of penalties in this year's Six Nations and the players are said to be on some kind of warning of disciplinary measures if there is a repeat on Saturday.

Coach Warren Gatland is expected to do more than tinker with the side to face the Irish after successive wins on the road against Scotland and Italy.

He seems certain to recall the in-form Jonathan Davies in the centre after a hamstring injury ruled him out against Italy.

Despite a great debate about whether James Hook or Stephen Jones should be at outside half, for me there seems little doubt Gatland will go for Hook after the success he made of the job at Murrayfield.

Top tight head prop Adam Jones and wings George North and Leigh Halfpenny are all back in contention after being injured for the opening three matches of the tournament, but I can't see Gatland considering any of them yet.

It's a bit too soon for all three of them, Jones in particular after just a 20-minute cameo appearance for the Ospreys against a poor Glasgow side at the weekend.

And it would be unfair on Matthew Stoddart to leave him out after he has made a pretty decent fist of it on the right wing after being called up in an emergency, especially when full back is his preferred and more natural position.

So expect changes to be kept to a minimum when Gatland names his team on the unusually late day of Thursday, just two days before another Celtic showdown.

As for the outcome it really is too tight to call. Their records are similar with two wins and one defeat, Wales edging ahead in the table on points difference.

Home advantage could swing it Wales' way, but don't bet on it!