Pichot thinks Toner should ask World Rugby ‘for answers’ after Ireland omission

World Rugby vice-chairman Agustin Pichot thinks Devin Toner should be asking the governing body "for answers" following his exclusion from Ireland's World Cup squad.

Toner was left out of the 31-man squad announced by Joe Schmidt on Monday, with the Ireland head coach calling up Munster's Jean Kleyn instead.

Kleyn only became eligible to play for Ireland last month, having moved from South Africa three years ago, and earned just two caps for the country prior to his selection for the tournament in Japan.

Pichot, who played international rugby for Argentina as a scrumhalf, took to social media to express his sympathy for Toner.

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“If I was Devin Toner . . . I will be asking WR [World Rugby] for answers. I feel sorry for him; nothing against for who was properly selected for the RWC19 by the way. But feel that way,” said Pichot on Twitter.

Leinster lock Toner has been one of Schmidt’s most trusted lieutenants since his appointment as Ireland boss in 2013.

But Kleyn has been given the nod ahead of the 33-year-old, with Schmidt selecting him alongside Iain Henderson, James Ryan and Tadhg Beirne in a four-strong lock cordon.

Explaining his squad selection, New Zealander Schmidt said: “To go from 40 players down to 31 was really difficult, but we had a process whereby we looked back through every training, looked through the games.

“There were some guys who obviously had more experience and probably had more credit in the bank and were more established and there were other guys who were trying to force their way into the group and trying to get a balance of current form versus previous performance. It’s always a very, very difficult conundrum to solve.”