Powell has been dropped from the Wales squad for disciplinary reasons, after the Blues player was charged with drink-driving following an incident with a golfbuggy on the morning after the win against Scotland.
Powell hit the headlines for the wrong reasons during this year's Six Nations when he was booted out of the Wales squad for being caught driving a golfbuggy down the M4 while drunk.
Jonathan Thomas switches from lock to back-row to fill the gap vacated by Powell's banishment from the squad after being charged with drink-driving following an incident with a golfbuggy on the morning after the win against Scotland.
What no one dares stop calling the Special Relationship has been defined down the years by images - Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher dancing, George W Bush joking about sharing Colgate with a grinning Tony Blair squeezed into crotch hugging chinos and years later spinning a be-suited and grim-faced Gordon Brown around in a golfbuggy.
Should the Wales skipper be ruled out youngster Sam Warburton is also an option to step in against Ireland, while there is speculation that Andy Powell could receive a recall after his drink-driving golf-buggy disgrace.