O’Driscoll debates excluding former teammate in Ireland RWC squad prediction
Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll has selected the 33-man Ireland squad that he would like to see Andy Farrell take to France next month for the World Cup, but is stuck on one position.
The one final space that is up for debate for the former centre is the winger/fullback position, where he cannot decide between the 100-cap Keith Earls and Jacob Stockdale.
The pair started on either wing against Italy on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium, with the Ulster wing coming out on top according to O’Driscoll. Though the 35-year-old Earls obviously has a lot of good performances in the bank, if it does come down to a toss-up between him and Stockdale, their form going into the World Cup might well be the deciding factor for Farrell.
He wrote on Instagram: “Just not quite sure on the call between Stockdale & Earls. From one pre season outing it’s advantage Stockdale but Earlsy brings a huge amount to the squad in terms of leadership, calmness, vast experience at RWCs & as a utility player covering 3/4 positions. Hmmm…”
Take a look:
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Brian O’Driscoll’s Ireland World Cup Squad
Forwards (18)
Cian Healy
Dave Kilcoyne
Andrew Porter
Tadhg Furlong
Finlay Bealham
Tom O’Toole
Rob Herring
Dan Sheehan
Ronan Kelleher
James Ryan
Iain Henderson
Tadhg Beirne
Joe McCarthy
Ryan Baird
Peter O’Mahony
Josh van der Flier
Caelan Doris
Jack Conan
Backs (15)
Jamison Gibson-Park
Conor Murray
Craig Casey
Johnny Sexton
Ross Byrne
Jack Crowley
Bundee Aki
Robbie Henshaw
Garry Ringrose
Stuart McCloskey
Jimmy O’Brien
Mack Hansen
James Lowe
Hugo Keenan
Jacob Stockdale/Keith Earls
