Ireland will begin their World Cup warm-ups against Italy next weekend and when they do we should get a clearer idea of Joe Schmidt’s plans for Japan.

For Guinness PRO14 fans, there is plenty to ponder over who will make the cut and what impact they will have in a couple of months’ time.

Next in our series are Ireland, 2018 Grand Slam champions and looking to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time.

SQUAD BREAKDOWN

Schmidt is as meticulous as they come so when he selects a squad for the Rugby World Cup you can guarantee that nothing has been left down to chance.

While Ireland have not enjoyed quite the same success in 2019 as they did in 2018, Schmidt still has huge depth to call on and a largely fit squad, albeit without a couple of key players in the back row.

The injury-enforced absences of Dan Leavy and Sean O’Brien will certainly hurt, although they may not have an impact on how Schmidt puts together his squad.

Four years ago, Schmidt made the rather bold call of initially selecting just two scrum-halves, albeit Isaac Boss later joined the squad as an injury replacement for Jared Payne.

A repeat this year would be surprising, although predicting what the inscrutable Schmidt will do is not easy.

Schmidt previously went for five props, and given Andrew Porter’s ability to play both sides, that seems to be an option at his disposal once again.

The other advantage Schmidt has is the number of players comfortable in multiple positions. Whether it is Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne in the pack, or Joey Carbery, Robbie Henshaw and Jordan Larmour in the backs, Schmidt has the players needed to fill out a 31-man squad which covers all the bases.

KEY MAN

It would be easy to focus on Conor Murray or Johnny Sexton, who will of course have a huge influence on how far Ireland will go in Japan.

However since the start of 2018, only four man have scored ten or more tries in international rugby, and one of them is Jacob Stockdale, with ten in 15 Tests.

To put it into the context, over the last 18 months the next most tries by an Irishman is four (the quartet of Keith Earls, Andrew Conway, Larmour and Murray).

While he is capable of playing full-back, as he did late in the season for Ulster, Stockdale has played exclusively on the wing for Ireland, and notably has three tries in two appearances against future World Cup opponents Scotland.

The archetypal Schmidt winger, combining an imposing physique with raw pace and a nose for the try-line, Stockdale will be the biggest weapon Ireland have at their disposal.

And for what it’s worth, the top try-scorer at every World Cup has been a winger. The only exception is Mils Muliaina in 2003, and even he scored four of his tries on the wing against Canada.

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