Wales' lineout is lost and, after Ireland are awarded a penalty, there's a scuffle between a few players.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones and Ireland's Peter O'Mahony, another who has skippered the British and Irish Lions, are both involved but it's harmless enough.

Sexton boots the Irish penalty into Wales' half.

Philippa Tuttiett
Former Wales international on BBC Radio Wales

Strong start from Wales and they are testing the new-look Ireland back three which includes James Lowe.

Shane Lewis Hughes gets the turnover. He is an exciting prospect.

Romain Poite is tonight's TMO.

He spots a tackle around Ryan Elias' neck by Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton and Dan Biggar kicks another Wales penalty into the Irish 22.

Another promising position for Wales.

Wales' lineout is solid and, despite going through a few phases, their attack breaks down after a loose pass from Owen Watkin.

Josh Adams loses the ball into touch and Ireland clear into the Welsh half.

Slow ball for Wales just inside their own half so scrum-half Gareth Davies launches a high box-kick, which Ireland debutant James Lowe does well to claim.

However, the Leinster man is penalised for holding on after good work at the breakdown from Shane Lewis-Hughes.

Penalty to Wales and they kick towards the Irish 22.

Wales' Dan Biggar takes the kick-off at the Aviva Stadium.

Tonight's referee is Mathieu Raynal of France. He blows his whistle and we're off!

Image source, Getty Images

So how exactly does the Autumn Nations Cup work?

The tournament involves eight teams, split into two pools.

Pool A comprises England, Ireland, Wales and Georgia. Pool B is France, Scotland, Italy and Fiji.

Each team plays every other team in their group over three successive weekends, starting on Friday, to complete the pool stages.

Then the top-ranked team in Pool A plays the top-ranked team in Pool B, the second-ranked team in Pool A plays their equivalent in Pool B and so on for a final weekend of fixtures to decide the final placings.

You can read more here.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says the Autumn Nations Cup opener against Wales is an opportunity for Billy Burns to prove himself on the international stage.

The Ulster fly-half is in line to make his debut from the bench tonight.

"Billy is somebody that we looked at before training and he has come back fit again. We will give him an opportunity to show us what he's got," Farrell said.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has been given his thoughts pre-match in Dublin.

"Performances post lockdown have not been how we would have liked them and we have had two weeks to have a good look at that and make sure we put in place things to get a better performance," said Pivac.

"This is a great opportunity in a new competition.

"The pressure is coming from within the group. We are not satisfied with the performances.

"We want the players to show what they are capable of and we know there is more than what is show against Scotland."

Image source, Huw Evans picture agency

It's not just Pivac feeling the heat.

Amid talk of squad unrest, Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones says players and coaches have a shared responsibility to turn around the struggling side.

"Unrest is something that can be quite provocative to those outside the camp," says Jones.

"It's still a job of work for us. We're focused and very clear on what we need to do and we'll stick to that."

You can read more of the skipper's thoughts here.

Image source, BBC Sport

Alun Wyn Jones and Wayne Pivac may be playing down talk of unrest in the Wales camp - as you'd expect - but Ugo Monye has not held back with his thoughts.

The former England and British and Irish Lions wing likened Wales to a "sinking ship" on BBC Radio 5 Live's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

"The ship is sinking, unfortunately, and I don't think the players are happy," said Monye.

"You buy into a new concept, you work like anything but you need to see reward for all the hard work, and if you're not seeing that reward you start to ask questions, especially when your former coach is Warren Gatland."

Wales' preparations for tonight's game have been less than ideal.

On top of their poor form, they sacked defence coach Byron Hayward less than a week ago.

Head coach Wayne Pivac says the decision to remove Hayward was not made by Welsh Rugby Union bosses.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Both Ireland and Wales are coming into this tournament in transition, although the hosts are in a more encouraging position.

After Joe Schmidt's stellar tenure, former England assistant coach Andy Farrell has taken the reins.

Ireland won each of their three Six Nations fixtures in Dublin, with an away defeat by England and then another in the French capital proving decisive on 31 October.

The 35-27 defeat in Paris at the end of October left Farrell's side third in the final Six Nations table behind champions England and France.

Image source, Ben Evans/Huw Evans Agency

As for the Wales team news, flanker Justin Tipuric returns from illness in the only change from their Six Nations loss to Scotland.

Uncapped Bristol fly-half Callum Sheedy is on the bench, named in Wales' matchday squad for the first time.

George North will play his 100th Test - including three for the British and Irish Lions - if he comes on as a replacement.

Here's how Wales line up:

Wales: Leigh Halfpenny; Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies, Owen Watkin, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Rhys Carre, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Alun Wyn Jones (capt), Shane Lewis-Hughes, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Wyn Jones, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Aaron Wainwright, Lloyd Williams, Callum Sheedy, George North.

Image source, Inpho

So Wales are in disarray, what about Ireland?

Let's start with the team news.

Leinster wing James Lowe will make his debut, with the New Zealand-born 28-year-old qualifying through residency.

Jacob Stockdale had been named initially at full-back but was a late withdrawal along with lock Iain Henderson.

That sees Hugo Keenan switch to 15, with Andrew Conway coming into the team. Quinn Roux is promoted from the replacements to start in place of Henderson, with Tadhg Beirne added to the bench.

Jamison Gibson-Park makes his maiden start at scrum-half while Ulster fly-half Billy Burns is in line to make his debut from the bench.

Here's the team in full:

Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton (capt), Jamison Gibson-Park; Cian Healy, Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Quinn Roux, James Ryan, Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Ed Byrne, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Will Connors, Conor Murray, Billy Burns, Keith Earls.

Image source, Huw Evans picture agency

It has been an inauspicious start to life as Wales head coach for Wayne Pivac.

Following on from Warren Gatland's hugely successful 12-year reign was always going to be a tall order - and so it has proved.

Wales have lost their past five matches and enter this match off the back of their worst Six Nations since 2007.

But Pivac insists he has not held talks with the Welsh Rugby Union about his own long-term future.

You can read that story here.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Good evening! What's this Autumn Nations Cup all about then?

Well, with New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina staying in the southern hemisphere due to the coronavirus pandemic and all its ramifications, there's been a rejig to the autumn schedule up north.

The new tournament involves eight teams, split into two groups. Pool A comprises England, Ireland, Wales and Georgia, Pool B is France, Scotland, Italy and Fiji.

Ireland and Wales will share the honour of kicking off the new Autumn Nations Cup in Dublin tonight.

Both teams are in transition under new coaches, with Wales in particular under pressure after a dismal run of form.

They could really do with a morale-boosting win but, as we'll discuss in a bit more detail, victories have been hard to come by for Wales lately.