OSullivan has opted not to tinker with his line-up despite Saturdays 26-19 defeat by France at Lansdowne Road - a result which ended Irelands hopes of securing a first Grand Slam since 1948.

Ulster veteran Kevin Maggs will continue at inside centre following the failure of Gordon DArcy and Shane Horgan to recover from their respective hamstring and thumb injuries.

It wasnt a difficult team selection meeting. We didnt think about changing anyone because we played well against France, so weve stuck with the same squad, said OSullivan.

DArcy has seen just over 20 minutes of RBS 6 Nations action this season after limping off in the opener against Italy and hopes of his inclusion against Wales were ended on Tuesday morning.

Horgan fractured his thumb against England on February 27, forcing him to miss the defeat to France, and has also failed to complete his rehabilitation in time for Saturday.

OSullivan said: Gordon and Shane have not recovered so are unavailable. Once we learned that, we knew we would be selecting the same side again.

Ireland must beat Grand Slam-chasing Wales by at least 13 points - and hope Les Bleus score less than 42 points against Italy - to land their first championship title since 1985.

They have not lost in Cardiff in 22 years but all the momentum is with resurgent Wales who are in pole position to complete a clean sweep after beating Scotland 46-22 on Sunday.

Ireland will monitor the fitness of prop Reggie Corrigan (knee) and scrum-half Peter Stringer (back) over the coming days but both players are expected to feature in Cardiff.

Ireland team to play Wales in the RBS 6 Nations at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday:

G Murphy (Leicester); G Dempsey (Leinster), B ODriscoll (Leinster, capt), K Maggs (Ulster), D Hickie (Leinster); R OGara (Munster), P Stringer (Munster); R Corrigan (Leinster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), M OKelly (Leinster), P OConnell (Munster), S Easterby (Llanelli), J OConnor (Wasps), A Foley (Munster).

Replacements: F Sheahan (Munster), M Horan (Munster), D OCallaghan (Munster), E Miller (Leinster), G Easterby (Leinster), D Humphreys (Ulster), G Duffy (Harlequins).