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Cathal Noonan/INPHO
Jacks or Mads?

Open thread: Pick your half-backs to travel to the Rugby World Cup

Time to decide which scrum and out-halves you’d bring to England.

WE’RE PROGRESSING THROUGH the selections nicely.

On Thursday you debated the choices Joe Schmidt has to make in the back three, and yesterday we solved the selection issues for the centre, but now we want you to break down the options at out-half.

Like yesterday, it requires a lot of thought. There are three contenders, and your first decision to make will be how many of them to bring.

Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster)
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (Racing Metro 92)

If you opted for three centres yesterday, it’s likely you’ll only be able to bring two of this trio to the tournament, but with Jackson and Madigan both capable of stepping into midfield, you’ve the option of bringing all three.

Paddy Jackson and Ian Madigan dejected after the game James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

For that to happen, Gordon D’Arcy, Noel Reid and Darren Cave will presumably all be left at home, so some tough calls must be made.

After that, who are you pairing your out-halves with? Schmidt has four scrum-halves to choose from in his 45 man squad, with only three likely to get a plane ticket.

Isaac Boss (Terenure/Leinster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht)

Murray is the lock, so presumably there’s two places between three, with Boss and Reddan preferred during the Six Nations.

As usual, let us know your selections in the comments below, and get your thinking caps on for the scrum-half discussion tomorrow.

You’ve decided on the back three, now pick your centres travel to the Rugby World Cup

Before a high ball is launched, pick the back three players you would want in your Rugby World Cup squad

 

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