WE STARTED OUT way back in June with 45, now we have 31 and tomorrow Joe Schmidt will unveil his 15 starters for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Canada are Ireland’s first opponents of what will hopefully be a seven-week odyssey in England and Wales.
The Canucks are a capable outfit that will likely be at their best in game one, but they aren’t exactly the biggest threat to Ireland’s progress from Pool D, so maybe this is not as straight forward as picking the best 15 players available.
Joe Schmidt will also be taking fitness in to account as he aims to get everyone in peak condition for the latter stages of the pool – and beyond.
Our writers are still some way from the compromises needed to settle on an agreed starting XV.
Neil Treacy
I think Romania is going to be a tougher game for our forwards, so this is a nice chance for Cian Healy to come back and wreak some havoc on the Canadian scrum alongside Richardt Strauss. Don’t worry, I’m not dropping Paulie. I’d keep him in reserve to let Devin Toner and Iain Henderson go out and fight for the right to pack down alongside the skipper.
I would keep Conor Murray on ice at least until after the hour mark and let Eoin Reddan, Johnny Sexton set a tone to help Darren Cave run riot. Tommy Bowe is in there to redeem himself a little after that England game.
NT’s XV: Simon Zebo, Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney, Jonathan Sexton, Eoin Reddan: Cian Healy, Richardt Strauss, Nathan White; Devin Toner, Iain Henderson; Peter O’Mahony, Chris Henry, Jamie Heaslip.
Sean Farrell
First game out of the blocks is going to be rough.
Think USA in 2011 or Namibia in ’07. This Canada side is shaping up to be better than either of them. So I’m going to go with something approaching full strength.
I would have Cian Healy in reserve for this one and get him at least 25 minutes at the tail end to build up his fitness before maybe starting next week. I’d be reluctant to risk Rob Kearney from the start and Tommy Bowe has to play his way back in.
SF’s XV: Simon Zebo; Dave Kearney, Jared Payne, Robbie Henshaw, Luke Fitzgerald; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray: Jack McGrath, Rory Best, Mike Ross, Iain Henderson, Paul O’Connell; Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip.
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