To borrow liberally from Talking Heads, how did we get here? Having already shredded the record books and ensured that 2000 is a benchmark in Irish rugby history, Ireland stand on the threshold of four successive championship victories and the runners-up spot in the championship - the highest placing in 15 years. It's enough to bring on a case of vertigo.

After the frenzied search for tickets, the desire for a stylish Irish victory will be equally frenzied. It's all a little unnerving really. Barring an all-singing, all-dancing victory Ireland seem almost primed for a fall.

Two years ago, Ireland came off the relative high of nearly beating France in Paris to face Wales at home. The day before that antic-climactic defeat, a member of the Irish squad privately confessed his concerns when saying "the fear isn't there".

Talking yesterday, Keith Wood admitted: "I think fear is a very good emotion to have. I think you have to have it. If you don't have it you kind of drift into the realms of arrogance or cockiness, which I can assure you none of the Irish team is any way near.

"Another word for that fear could be respect for your opponents, and you have to have respect for Wales, especially in what they've done over the last couple of years. They'd a really torrid time in the early to mid'90s, and to get the sort of run they had last year was incredible, and knowing exactly what they've done in Lansdowne Road, that kind of fear or respect blends in together."

Besides, you can't buy confidence, and it's that Munster-orientated self-belief and ability to climb out of a crisis that makes you think Ireland can wear the mantle of favourites well.

The tackling of the tight five and, for example, Rob Henderson (who led the way with 18 tackles in Paris) enabled Ireland to absorb pressure and freed up the ball-carriers.

Not that the performance in Paris was flawless: both the scrums and the lineouts creaked and Ronan O'Gara's kicking game was unusually awry. Turnovers out wide could prove costlier today, and Wales will be a significant test. Heaven knows what the highly-rated Rhys Williams will be like on his debut at full back, especially under the high ball, but no less than his fellow Irish tyros or the quicksilver left-winger Shane Williams (who's liable to give Shane Horgan's defence a test or two) the chances are he'll be fearless too. It goes with the territory.

Nor should we expect Brian O'Driscoll to emulate his feats in Paris. The law of averages possibly decrees that he'll have a quiet enough, non-scoring day. Against that the boy wonder seems a freak of nature. The encouraging thing from an Irish aspect is that Henderson is playing the rugby of his career and so is Denis Hickie, who's due a change of luck in the try-scoring stakes.

Wales like a high-tempo game and taking quick lineouts and tap penalties as much as the next team, so it could well be an open, fast and entertaining game garnished with a fair few tries.

Up front, Wales will actually be a sterner test than they were at Wembley, which was something of a watershed in Graham Henry's rein. The changed tight five and stronger scrum thereafter was a launching pad for their extraordinary run of 10 successive wins.

They've hiccuped since, at home to Samoa and Australia in the World Cup - which ultimately panned out rather similarly to Ireland's, save for their better result against Argentina. Similarly, they've duly taken care of Scotland and Italy at home in this championship, whilst being given a hiding at Twickenham. The only exception in the formguide was their opening result to France when, admittedly, Les Bleus were much stronger.

So, in a curious way, this game arguably remains Ireland's truest barometer. Yet the suspicion lurks that this isn't the best team Wales could be putting out, even allowing for the absence of the hugely influential Shane Howarth (the catalyst for much of their running game) and Brett Sinkinson.

Just because this is all bar one of the team that beat Scotland doesn't make it a better team than the one which lost heavily to England. As tests go they're of the chalk and cheese variety. Scotland possibly hit a new nadir this season with their performance in Cardiff, recycling dead ball ad nauseum with no depth to their runners and few serious questions asked of the Wales defence.

You would expect Ireland to ask a completely different set of questions, both through their greater depth and pace out wide, and also through quicker recycling.

You would also be inclined to think that the absence of Scott Quinnell, Robert Howley and Neil Jenkins (so often a thorn in Irish sides) from Wales' middle-three axis won't hurt Ireland's chances. That said, David Humphreys of the dependable boot will probably make an entrance at some point and may have a major bearing on the outcome.

Wales will still travel with some confidence. As with Ireland's biennial sorties to Cardiff or latterly Wembley, trips to Dublin have been Wales' get out of jail card in bad years. Wales have won on six of their last eight matches at Lansdowne Road.

Yet having done so against Scotland, Italy and France, there will be a strong expectation at Lansdowne Road that Ireland will remove another monkey from their backs. And with another spectator-friendly (or at any rate pub-friendly) 4.00 kick-off time the atmosphere should be electric. A shame that the weather forecast suggests the free Guinness hats may come in handy. A war of attrition, even in wet conditions, probably wouldn't suit either team. Those days are gone. Ireland haven't really had the capacity to bully even mainstream fellow division two teams in years. Playing it fast and loose, albeit simply enough and to patterns, suits them far better.

They're not 2 to 7 which was probably an over-reaction from the bookmakers after the sting they took when offering 9 to 2 in Paris. A more realistic assessment would be to make them 60 to 40 favourites.

And the key to an Irish victory today is more of the same - that is bringing the same pace and intensity to their game. Pace, pace, pace. This formula would at least ensure another good performance and enhance the probability of victory.