JOE SCHMIDT HAS officially confirmed his 31-man squad for the forthcoming World Cup squad.

As reported by The42 yesterday, Ulster wing Andrew Trimble misses out, while Darren Cave and once-capped Tadhg Furlong have been included.

Wexford man Tadhg Furlong is in after making his debut last weekend.

The squad is also as expected elsewhere, with Schmidt opting to take just two scrum-halves in Conor Murray and Eoin Reddan.

“The players have worked incredibly hard over the past two months,” said Schmidt of making this final selection. “Sunday was a difficult and very long day for the coaching team and an anxious one for many players.

There were some very tight decisions, particularly in the back three and it was also a challenge to make sure that key positions were covered as much as a squad of 31 players allows.

“A number of players were very unlucky to miss selection. We know from observing past World Cups that it’s important for us to keep track of their performances because some of them are likely to be involved in the tournament.”

Ireland’s final World Cup squad are currently preparing for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up clash against England in Twickenham. They will host an open training session at the RDS in Dublin on Tuesday 8 September.

Confirmed 31-man Ireland World Cup squad:

Forwards (17):

Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) 84 caps
Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 45
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 1
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 51
Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster) 74
Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 19
Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster) 18
Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 19
Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster) 12
Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster) 36
Paul O’Connell (Young Munster) 103 captain
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 31
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster) 51
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster) 30
Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster) 9
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 26
Nathan White (Connacht) 2

Backs (14):

Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 62 caps
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 9
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 41
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster) 30
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht) 11
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster) 12
David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster) 9
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster) 63
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster) 20
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 36
Jared Payne (Ulster) 7
Eoin Reddan (Old Crescent/Leinster) 63
Jonathan Sexton (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 52
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster) 17

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