Preview: Wales v Ireland
However, they have similar ambitions in Saturday's warm-up match in Cardiff.
While the Southern Hemisphere teams contest the Rugby Championship, the first of the World Cup contenders from the north have a chance to flex their muscles.
A sell-out Millennium Stadium will watch Wales and Ireland assess their options after two months of tough conditioning. At last it is time to swap the tackle bags for opponents that hit back.
Ireland settled for the comforts of home, holding open training sessions around the country to cause minimal disruption for their players and galvanise a groundswell of support.
In contrast, Gatland has undertaken an ambitious and costly schedule, taking his 47-man squad first to the Alps and then Qatar. He has since cancelled a third trip to Poland, though Wales have still spent almost a month at altitude.
After a fortnight at 2,250 metres above sea-level in Switzerland, players have slept in hypoxic chambers in Doha that replicate conditions up to 4,500 metres.
"We are a long way ahead now from a conditioning and organisation point of view than before the 2011 tournament, when we reached the semifinals," Gatland said.
"We've taken them right to the edge in training and nearly pushed them over on a couple of occasions."
Both teams have opted to rest star names in order to hand opportunities to those hoping to make up the numbers at the World Cup.
For Wales that means debuts for Ospreys wing Eli Walker, Dragons teenager Tyler Morgan, Bath lock Dominic Day and Gloucester flanker Ross Moriarty.
New Zealand recruit Gareth Anscombe is one of two more uncapped players among the replacements.
Gatland said: "Now we're looking more at the rugby side of things and giving younger players, those on the fringes and even a few more experienced guys a chance to show what they've done over the last six weeks.
"Playing in front of 75,000 at your home stadium is a good moment to make a statement."
The selection of Moriarty is the most interesting. The 21-year-old is the son of former Wales dual-code international Paul, as well as nephew of Richard Moriarty, who captained Wales to third place in the inaugural World Cup in 1987.
Yet Ross, born in Manchester, twice won the Under-20 World Cup with England – including the 2013 Final against Wales.
Gatland quipped: "It's not a coup for us to get Ross back from England. It was a coup for them to have him in the Under-20 team after his father played for Wales!"
In contrast, all of Schmidt's squad have been previously capped, including captain Jamie Heaslip, who becomes Ireland's most-capped back row forward on his 73rd international appearance.
He is among five Leinster forwards that feature front row trio Mike Ross, Richard Strauss and Jack McGrath, who is likely to replace Cian Healy if the prop is ruled out of the World Cup with a neck injury.
Munster pair Keith Earls, a British and Irish Lion in 2009, and Donnacha Ryan will play international rugby for the first time in two years after struggles with injury.
"It's an ideal team at this stage to grab an opportunity because they know it is competitive within the squad," said Schmidt.
"There are players there who haven't had much opportunity in recent years, so it is a very good opportunity to get out there and show they can combine well."
Players to watch:
For Wales: There are many fringe players looking for a regular starting spot – most notably Mike Philips at scrumhalf, who has been overtaken by Rhys Webb in the pecking Welsh order. Webb won't feature in this match, but with Gareth Davies and Lloyd Williams also waiting in the wings, Philips knows he has to be at his very best. Hallam Amos at fullback, James Hook at flyhalf, Dan Baker at No.8 and Dominic Day at lock are among the others who get a chance to impress coach Warren Gatland.
For Ireland: Ireland have also gone for a lot of fringe players, although the squad is hardly inexperienced. Players who could look to push their claims for World Cup starting spots include Keith Earls and Darren Cave, while up front Donnacha Ryan – like Earls – will be making his first Test appearance for more than two years, after overcoming a series of injuries. Jamie Heaslip, who will captain the side from No.8, will be winning his 73rd cap – beating David Wallace's record for an Irish back row.
Head to head: There are interesting face-offs all over the park, starting at fullback – Hallam Amos (Wales) and Felix Jones (Ireland) getting an ideal chance to impress ahead of the World Cup. Tyler Moran (Wales) will also have a tough task to contain Keith Earls (Ireland) in midfield. However, the most interesting showdowns could be in the halfback positions – James Hook and Mike Phillips (Wales) against Paddy Jackson and Eoin Reddan (Ireland) – all players with strong World Cup claims.
Recent results:
2015: Wales won 23-16, Cardiff
2014: Ireland won 26-3, Dublin
2013: Ireland won 30-22, Cardiff
2012: Wales won 23-21, Dublin
2011: Wales won 22-10, Wellington (World Cup quarterfinal)
2011: Wales won 19-13, Cardiff
2010: Ireland won 27-12, Dublin
2009: Ireland won 17-15, Cardiff
2008: Wales won 16-12, Dublin
2007: Ireland won 19-9, Cardiff
Prediction: Does the result really matter? These two teams are obviously running largely second-string selections and are using it as a trial match. However, if we have to make a prediction, we'll go for Wales – who have a more settled-looking team – to win by about 12 points.
Teams:
Wales: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Eli Walker, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Rob Evans, 17 Kristian Dacey, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 James King, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Matthew Morgan.
Ireland: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Darren Cave, 11 Fergus McFadden, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Jordi Murphy, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Simon Zebo.
Date: Saturday, August 8
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14.30 (13.30 GMT)
Expected weather: The roof will be closed, so the elements won't have an influence on the game
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Pascal Gauzère (France), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Agence France-Presse & @rugby365com
