Wales assistant coach Robin McBryde is expecting his side to face a real "battle" in tomorrow afternoon's huge Six Nations showdown against Ireland.

Anything less than a victory for the Red Dragons at the Millennium Stadium will signal the end of their aim of winning the championship for a third time in four years, while the opposition are currently in the midst of an impressive run of form having won their last 10 games.

With all that is on the line in Cardiff, McBryde believes that it may not be a great watch for the neutral but instead a real physical tussle between two sides desperate to pick up the points at any cost.

"There's no secret to beating Ireland," the 44-year-old told reporters. "It's going to be a close game tomorrow. I've worked with some of their players as part of the British and Irish Lions and know them well. They are tactically astute, but we have to be confident going into the game that we have done our work.

"We've got to be ready for a battle; an arm wrestle for 80 minutes. That's what we have prepared for. Everything that goes on off the field paves into insignificance, it's all on the day and we'll be looking to see how react to their big pressure game - if we can stay in the fight that will give us a good chance of winning.

"Ireland are on course for a Grand Slam, so to just get away from Cardiff with a win is all they will be looking to do. Playing any sort of attractive rugby will come second, that's the nature of the game at the moment. Sometimes the spectators have got to pay the price for that."

Ireland, who last won a Grand Slam back in 2009, have not tasted defeat since a narrow 13-10 reverse against England 13 months ago.