Dan Biggar, Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams have all recovered from injury to take their places in the starting XV. Following their narrow 12-6 defeat against England at Twickenham Wales must win in Dublin to keep their Championship hopes alive.
“We had a good debate about the back three and there was a healthy discussion about the combinations there and bringing the experience back into the side,” said Gatland.
“Both George and Liam scored tries last weekend and Dan is coming back ahead of schedule but he gives us that experience at 10. The beauty of having experienced players is that because they been around for a while are easier to throw into a situation like that, having had limited rugby.
“Dan has a lot of experience, has taken a full part in training and has been working hard to get himself back into contention. We felt it was the right time to bring him back in.”
Wales are unbeaten on their last three Six Nations meetings with Ireland in the NatWest Six Nations. And despite being full of respect for Ireland Gatland is confident his side has the capability to win.
“We have got to put Conor and his kicking game under pressure and we have to be prepared to be pretty physical against them,” said Gatland.
“I thought the way Wales played at home against them last year was outstanding, the kind of model and benchmark to take to Ireland. We have got to be physical against them up front, stop the running power of someone like CJ Stander and stop allowing Murray and Sexton to dominate the game. If we can do that, we have got a chance.”
