For this week, here is a look at how Joe viewed his squad based on the summer tours and the 6 Nations roughly. Bold is my attempted guess on cutting it down to the 30 players he can take to England in 2015 were it tomorrow. While italics are not involved.
Now, this isn't what I'd choose as my 30, but what it appears to me how Joe is thinking. It also highlights the tough choices ahead, as most squads announced contain 35 players, while the World Cup squad only allows 30. This means a tough pick between a 4th centre or a 5th back three player, while also reducing the number of props and backrowers in the squad. It's also likely that there will only be two outhalves involved aswell.
| 1st Choice | 2nd Choice | 3rd Choice | 4th Choice | 5th Choice | 6th Choice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cian Healy | Jack McGrath | Dave Kilcoyne | James Cronin | ||
| 2 | Rory Best | Sean Cronin | Richardt Strauss | Damien Varley | Rob Herring | Mike Sherry |
| 3 | Mike Ross | Martin Moore | Declan Fitzpatrick | Rodney Ah You | Stephen Archer | |
| 4 | Devin Toner | Iain Henderson | Donnacha Ryan | Donncha O'Callaghan | ||
| 5 | Paul O'Connell | Dan Tuohy | Mike McCarthy | |||
| 6 | Peter O'Mahony | Rhys Ruddock | Robbie Diack | Kevin McLaughlin | ||
| 7 | Sean O'Brien | Chris Henry | Jordi Murphy | Tommy O'Donnell | ||
| 8 | Jamie Heaslip | Robin Copeland | Roger Wilson | |||
| 9 | Conor Murray | Eoin Reddan | Isaac Boss | Kieran Marmion | Paul Marshall | |
| 10 | Jonathan Sexton | Paddy Jackson | Ian Madigan | Ian Keatley | ||
| 11 | Andrew Trimble | Fergus McFadden | Simon Zebo | |||
| 12 | Gordon D'Arcy | Luke Marshall | Stuart Olding | Noel Reid | ||
| 13 | Darren Cave | Robbie Henshaw | Jared Payne | |||
| 14 | Tommy Bowe | Dave Kearney | Keith Earls | Craig Gilroy | ||
| 15 | Rob Kearney | Felix Jones |
I've also forgotten some players, mostly injured, so all corrections, comments and tips welcome.
