WALES defence coach Mike Forshaw has pledged Wales "won’t die wanting" when they take on champions Ireland at a sold-out Principality Stadium in the Guinness Six Nations this Saturday (February 22) after the departure of chief coach Warren Gatland.

Fourteen straight defeats, including a 43-0 loss to France in Paris in the tournament opener and a 22-15 defeat to Italy in Rome, saw the departure of Gatland, whose second stint after Glam Slam glory proved the complete opposite.

With Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt coming in as caretaker basis to replace the Kiwi, Forshaw said: "We’ve got players who are very respected, and we won’t die wanting, that’s for sure. There will be effort...

"We will not be dipping toes in, we’ll be putting our bodies into this game.

"We understand we’re playing a super team. They are a pretty cohesive side who can trouble you for long phases.

"International rugby can be brutal, but we go again this weekend. No doubt we’ll fight to the end once again.

"It's a game no-one expects us to win, so it’s a game for us to go out there and put our stamp on.”

Former Wales hooker T Rhys Thomas has also been drafted in as forwards skills coach.

And Forshaw added: “We’ve parked last week and you just dust yourself off.

“Matt has come in and he’s a very personable guy who’s very focused around his attacking philosophies. That’s his DNA...

“We’ve got to get a basic plan of what we’re going after... We’ve kept it pretty simple and we haven’t made wholesale changes – just a bit of language and terminology will change...

“When we played there (Dublin) last year I thought for 60-odd minutes we did a really good job containing them. But they go through more phases than anybody else and are really difficult to contain.

“So for us, it’s about how we manage that game and the territory. That’s something we’ll talk about.”

The game is on BBC1, kick-off 2.15pm.