Newport Gwent Dragons captain Coombs shone on his first outing in senior Wales colours in round one of the 2013 RBS 6 Nations but the side as a whole came up short after a poor first half left them with too much to do in Cardiff.
Warren Gatland’s troops were superb in the second period that day 12 months ago but it wasn’t enough to prevent Coombs’ maiden outing resulting in a 30-22 defeat at the Millennium Stadium.
“It’s nice to get the chance to start against Ireland again,” said Coombs, whose stock rose significantly after his debut despite defeat and a slow start that saw him lose the ball in contact with his very first touch.
“Last year it wasn’t great to make a mistake with my first touch in international rugby but if you don’t get back up and impress then you are probably never going to play for your country again.
“It was important that I collected my emotions and carried on playing as I normally would. It turned out to be a fantastic tournament and I am so happy to be back in to have another crack at it.”
Coombs came on as a second-half replacement against Italy last week but steps up to the starting line-up after Luke Charteris was hit with a hamstring injury.
The 29-year-old knows he will have to be at his best to retain his place for the visit of France a fortnight on Friday, especially as he and lock partner Alun Wyn Jones are likely to be up against Irish legend Paul O’Connell and either Devin Toner or Dan Tuohy at the weekend, both of whom excelled in Ireland’s big win over Scotland.
“We do need to raise our game against Ireland, who are one of the best teams in the Six Nations. They are one of the best lineout teams in the world so it’s important that we do our analysis work on the computers,” added Coombs.
“You have to be aggressive in defence against their driving lineout, which is an area of the game that we are always working on. They are an all-round team – they have a good pack and an excellent backline – so we will have to be at our best this weekend to keep them out.
“It’s going to be difficult to keep my spot with the players around me but I am not going to change anything. I’m just going to go out there and give it my all, playing the same way as I always do. If that’s good enough then great, if not then that’s just unfortunate for me.”
