Rugby World Cup: Ireland coach Joe Schmidt gambles by picking only two scrum-halves

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has gambled by selecting just two scrum-halves for his Rugby World Cup squad - and has left out 2014 player of the year Andrew Trimble.
Head coach Schmidt has taken the calculated risk of picking only Conor Murray and Eoin Reddan at at number nine, to make room for an extra centre in Ulster's Darren Cave meaning Isaac Boss and Kieran Marmion miss out as a result,

Ulster winger Trimble, 30, also misses out having missed this year's Six Nations because of a toe injury. He has played just once for Ireland in the past 12 months, a 35-12 victory over Wales in a World Cup warm-up match on 8 August, but a flare-up of his toe injury meant he played only 33 minutes of that tie.

Seven of his Ulster team-mates are named - forwards Rory Best, Chris Henry and Iain Henderson and backs Tommy Bowe, Payne, Cave and Jackson.

Schmidt said: "The players have worked incredibly hard over the past two months. 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 challenging 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 31-man World Cup squad
Forwards: Rory Best (Ulster), Sean Cronin (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Jordi Murphy (Leinster), Sean O'Brien (Leinster), Paul O'Connell (capt), Peter O'Mahony (Munster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Richardt Strauss (Leinster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Nathan White (Connacht).
Backs: Tommy Bowe (Ulster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Keith Earls (Munster), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Connacht), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Dave Kearney (Leinster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Ian Madigan (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Jared Payne (Ulster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Simon Zebo (Munster).