WALES boss Wayne Pivac believes his back row for the Six Nations opener in Dublin has the right balance to upset Ireland – with fit-again Dragons star Ross Moriarty coming off the bench to cause some destruction.

The head coach has plumped for the same trio that beat Australia in the autumn finale with the Rodney Parade duo of Taine Basham and Aaron Wainwright joined by Cardiff breakdown expert Ellis Jenkins.

Pivac has resisted the temptation to bring the abrasive Moriarty straight back into the XV to face the notoriously uncompromising Irish, opting instead to give him the role of impact sub.

The 27-year-old will win his 50th cap from the bench at the Aviva Stadium just a week after ending a three-month spell on the sidelines for the Dragons against Benetton in the United Rugby Championship.

South Wales Argus: RETURN: Ross Moriarty on his Dragons comebackRETURN: Ross Moriarty on his Dragons comeback

“We looked at the game he had, the work he got through in that and where he's at in training,” said Pivac.

“He didn’t train in the first week [because he was released to the Dragons], he only did the introductory day, so he’s a week behind the others in terms of the learning. A lot of work has gone in so we just think it’s the best way to do it this week.”

Ireland have gone with the Leinster trio of Caelan Doris, Josh Van Der Flier and Jack Conan with Munster’s Peter O’Mahony given the same role as Moriarty.

Pivac is confident that the champions’ well-rounded quartet can give the hosts a headache.

“We certainly know that Ellis is very good at the breakdown. He’s very good at reading situations and picking his moments, and when he does he has pretty good results,” he said.

South Wales Argus: DECISION: Wayne Pivac has named his Wales side for IrelandDECISION: Wayne Pivac has named his Wales side for Ireland

“Taine is full of energy and he’s good both sides of the ball, and he’s working hard in terms of developing his game.

“We’ve got a really good athlete with good footwork, power, and pace in Aaron who is also a very good lineout forward. To start the game we think that’s the way we’ll get the benefit out of them.

“With Ross he’s just short of a gallop or two. He’ll come on and hopefully make a big impact because he’s a very physical player, and we are going to need to match them physically.”

On the back row options, Pivac added: “They are all slightly different aren’t they? What one brings the other one might bring something else slightly different. Across the 80 minutes we are going to need it all.”