Rugby:Two Irish Lions, Luke Fitzgerald and Tomás O'Leary have failed to make the 30-man Ireland squad for next month's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand with Irish coach Declan Kidney confirming the travelling party in a press conference at Carton House.
Leinster’s utility back Fergus McFadden and 22-year-old Garryowen and Munster scrumhalf Conor Murray have been handed golden tickets in the selection lottery.
Geordan Murphy, who had initially been informed that he wouldn’t be travelling, has made the squad on the basis of ankle injury sustained by the dreadfully unfortunate Felix Jones in Saturday’s defeat to France at the Aviva stadium.
The 33-year-old Leicester Tigers fullback will vie with Rob Kearney, currently sidelined with a groin strain, for the fullback jersey.
There are several players in the squad who could play fullback but Kidney wanted to that role filled by a player, whose stock and trade is in that position. Fitzgerald and Keith Earls were given opportunities but neither could emphatically nail down the role.
Up front Donnacha Ryan has seen off the challenge of Mike McCarthy and Kevin McLaughlin to fill the secondrow cum flanker utility role. Denis Leamy is preferred to Shane Jennings and Tony Buckley gets to travel.
Fitzgerald, two and a half weeks, short of his 24th birthday produced an excellent late cameo against France at the weekend but it wasn’t enough to earn a place in the travelling party: the green shoots in terms of recovering his form came just a little too late.
O’Leary, dogged by injury, has also struggled with form issues and it was inopportune for him to produce a lacklustre display on Saturday.
A problem for Kidney is that while there is depth of quality in some positions, there isn’t in others and it’s fair to say that Fitzgerald has been unfortunate.
IRELAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
BACKS (14)
FULL BACKS
Rob Kearney (Leinster)
Geordan Murphy (Leicester)
THREE-QUARTERS
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Andrew Trimble (Ulster)
Keith Earls (Munster)
Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster)
Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster)
Fergus McFadden (Leinster)
Paddy Wallace (Ulster)
OUTHALVES
Jonathan Sexton (Leinster)
Ronan O'Gara (Munster)
SCRUMHALVES
Eoin Reddan (Leinster)
Isaac Boss (Leinster)
Conor Murray (Munster)
FORWARDS (16)
PROPS
Mike Ross (Leinster)
Cian Healy (Leinster)
Tom Court (Ulster)
Tony Buckley (Sale Sharks)
HOOKERS
Jerry Flannery (Munster)
Rory Best (Ulster)
Seán Cronin (Leinster)
SECONDROW
Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster)
Paul O'Connell (Munster)
Leo Cullen (Leinster)
BACKROW
Stephen Ferris (Ulster)
Jamie Heaslip (Leinster)
Denis Leamy (Munster)
Seán O'Brien (Leinster)
David Wallace (Munster)
Donnacha Ryan (Munster)
