Irish Rugby

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Jamie Osborne says he and his Ireland's team-mates "can't kick loosely" against Wales' danger men in Friday's Six Nations clash in Dublin [20:10 GMT].

Despite the Welsh heading into the game without a win in this year's championship, Steve Tandy's side produced a much improved performance in the 26-23 defeat by Scotland in round three, having previously been well beaten by England and France.

While Ireland will go into the fixture as heavy favourites following their 42-21 win over England a Twickenham, the mood music in Andy Farrell's camp is one of caution.

They suffered their own heavy defeat by France and although they saw off Italy in round two, it was far from perfect and Osborne is aware a slip in standards will spell trouble with the full-back identifying his opposite number Louis Rees-Zammit as one major threat that must be shut down.

"A lot of their game runs through Tomos Williams so it will be important for us to try and stop him," the 24-year-old told reporters in Dublin on Tuesday.

"Then if you look at Louis Rees-Zammit in broken play, he's beaten so many defenders in the tournament already and will be a threat, so you can't kick loosely.

"After England, everyone feels a bit better about themselves but it's important not to get too far ahead of ourselves as the first game in France didn't go too well, so it doesn't mean we're a completely different team two weeks later."

Osborne feels his run of games at full-back for Ireland has helped him grow into the number 15 jersey and enjoys the facets of the position.

"The aerial and kicking game is a big part of the game at the moment," Osborne continued.

"There are a lot of contests and we, as a back three, have really been going after that in the Six Nations. The progress from Paris to Twickenham has been really good in that area and it really suits my game."

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Bundee Aki has returned to the Ireland squad for Friday's Six Nations game against Wales in Dublin (20:10 GMT), while Leinster pair Jimmy O'Brien and Robbie Henshaw are also back in contention.

Aki was handed a four-match ban in January for "verbal abuse and disrespect" towards match officials in Connacht's United Rugby Championship (URC) loss to Leinster in January.

That kept the 35-year-old out of his province's URC game against Leinster and Ireland's first three games in the Six Nations, but is now back with the squad.

O'Brien has also linked up with the squad and Henshaw is expected to return early this week after they both played the full 80 minutes in Leinster's 8-7 URC defeat by Cardiff on Friday.

Both were left out of Andy Farrell's initial 37-man squad for the Six Nations because of injury, but their return will bolster Ireland's options with James Lowe ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a groin injury.

Fly-half Harry Byrne suffered a concussion in Leinster's defeat on Friday and is out, while Cormac Izuchukwu continues his graduated return to play protocols and will join the squad alongside the other nine players who have also returned to camp.

Farrell will name his team on Wednesday afternoon.

Issy Todd
BBC Sport NI contributor

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Wallabies prop Angus Bell says he has no plans to extend his Ulster spell beyond this season ahead of the province's trip to face the Ospreys this Saturday.

Bell joined Ulster on a sabbatical until the end of the 2025-26 campaign and made his debut in December in the side's 61-7 Challenge Cup win over Racing 92.

The 25-year-old said he remains committed to his deal with Rugby Australia, which runs to the end of 2027, despite describing his time in Belfast as "probably the best experience" of his career.

"Playing abroad was always something I wanted to do. It's something that I needed to do to grow up a bit and experience new things in rugby," Bell told BBC Sport NI.

"That's the beauty of rugby is that you can go across the world and play in a different country. It's been awesome to learn how different styles of rugby are played.

"We've got a really class team at Ulster and I'm loving my time here. Ask Rory, ask Besty about extending!"

Fourth-placed Ulster take on Ospreys on Saturday (19:45 GMT) at Brewery Field in round 12 of the United Rugby Championship.

Bell, who starts on the bench, is looking forward to the challenge against the ninth-placed Welsh outfit.

"They are a class team. We know how hard Ospreys are to play at home," he said.

"I've got some really good mates in that team. I grew up with Jack Walsh and I've known him since he was a young fella. I've also played with Ryan Smith - played against him and we've been in a couple of Wallabies squads together.

"It's going to awesome to play against those sort of lads and I'm really looking forward to taking the field with Ulster and hopefully getting a good result."

Both sides have international players back from the Six Nations, with Nathan Doak, Jude Postlethwaite, Tom Stewart and Bryn Ward all starting for Ulster.

Bell added: "We are in such a good position and I'm so glad I can hopefully build something here at Ulster towards the back end of the year.

"We're ready for the challenge and I'm really looking forward to this fixture."