ANDY FARRELL WILL name his 33-man World Cup squad tomorrow and ahead of the big announcement, The 42′s rugby writers have tried to predict what the Ireland head coach’s selection will look like.

There’s a few tight calls, with the inclusions of Stuart McCloskey, Cian Prendergast and Tom Stewart all up for debate.

Let us know if you agree with our selections in the comments below.

Murray Kinsella

• Loosehead props: Cian Healy, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter
• Tighthead props: Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Furlong, Tom O’Toole
• Hookers: Rónan Kelleher, Rob Herring, Dan Sheehan
• Second rows: Tadhg Beirne, Iain Henderson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan
• Back rows: Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Peter O’Mahony
• Scrum-halves: Craig Casey, Jamison Gibson-Park, Conor Murray
• Out-halves: Jack Crowley, Ross Byrne, Johnny Sexton
• Centres: Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey
• Back threes: Keith Earls, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Jimmy O’Brien

The only change from my squad post-Six Nations is to add Stuart McCloskey and leave Ciarán Frawley out. Frawley hasn’t had much of a chance to impress and though his versatility would be useful, he could be pipped.

The big question mark is whether Ireland bring Cian Prendergast or McCloskey. Given that McCloskey starts against Samoa tonight, it seems likely he will be part of the final squad in an 18/15 split. 

Gavan Casey

• Loosehead props: Cian Healy, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter
• Tighthead props: Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Furlong, Tom O’Toole
• Hookers: Rob Herring, Rónan Kelleher, Dan Sheehan
• Second rows: Ryan Baird, Tadhg Beirne, Iain Henderson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan
• Back rows: Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Peter O’Mahony, Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier
• Scrum-halves: Craig Casey, Jamison Gibson-Park, Conor Murray
• Out-halves: Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley, Johnny Sexton
• Centres: Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose
• Back threes: Keith Earls, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Jimmy O’Brien

Despite his selection against Samoa hinting at a potential 18-15 split, my hunch is that Andy Farrell will still sacrifice Stuart McCloskey in favour of Cian Prendergast and load up on back-row depth.

Jack Crowley’s competence at 12 slightly minimises the risk and, ultimately, McCloskey will be only a phonecall and a short flight away in the event that Ireland lose one of their three leading centres for the tournament.

Provided he’s fit, I still see Farrell taking Dave Kilcoyne over Jeremy Loughman: ‘Killer’, who can still leave dents in fellas, will also bring levity on the long road — a quality to which Farrell ascribes serious value.

Back-to-back starts, and a less glamorous 101st cap, suggest to me that Farrell believes it important to grease Keith Earls’ wheels after 12 months in which his gametime has been limited. This would mean Ciarán Frawley and Jacob Stockdale — neither involved in Bayonne — will miss out.

Ultimately, Frawley just hasn’t played enough ball on the backend of an injury-ravaged 2022/23 season, and Stockdale’s climb back to previous heights remains too incremental to justify his inclusion among just 14 backs.

Ciarán Kennedy

• Loosehead props: Cian Healy, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter
• Tighthead props: Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Furlong, Tom O’Toole
• Hookers: Rob Herring, Rónan Kelleher, Dan Sheehan
• Second rows: Tadhg Beirne, Iain Henderson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan
• Back rows: Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier
• Scrum-halves: Craig Casey, Jamison Gibson-Park, Conor Murray
• Out-halves: Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley, Johnny Sexton
• Centres: Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey
• Back threes: Keith Earls, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Jimmy O’Brien

I’m not sure how Farrell will go at hooker but if the updates are to be believed, Rónan Kelleher travels and Ireland will hope to have Dan Sheehan primed for that South Africa game. If there’s any doubt about Kelleher I’d bring Tom Stewart ahead of him, but we’ll wait and see.

Otherwise most of the squad picks itself. The big call is Cian Prendergast or Stuart McCloskey, and if you asked me a week ago, my feeling was that Prendergast would get the shout. However, I think Ireland will need to rotate four centres across the pool stages and with McCloskey starting tonight, I think he’ll make the cut.

Joe McCarthy has impressed over the warm-up games so I think he’s on the plane, with Ryan Baird also travelling to cover the second row and back row.

In the backline, I don’t think Ciarán Frawley has played enough. Likewise Jacob Stockdale, who hasn’t been seen since his mixed bag against Italy. With Keith Earls featuring in all three warm-up games, it looks like his ticket is stamped. 

All things considered, it’s a really strong, well-balanced squad and with the short hop between France and Ireland, I’d fully expect a couple of those who miss out in the initial 33 to feature at some stage. 

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