The strength of the England side awaiting Ireland this Saturday at Twickenham was enough to quickly get any minds wandering post-World Cup squad selection back on track and focused on the size of the challenge ahead.

Keith Wood was a member of three Irish World Cup squads and he admits that the thoughts of going to the latest tournament with just two specialists in such a specialist position as scrum-half makes him uncomfortable.

Joe Schmidt has capped a remarkable rise to prominence for rookie prop Tadhg Furlong by asking him to prepare to play on both sides of the front row.

Ian Madigan has spent the last year working behind the scenes to prepare to cover scrum-half for Ireland at the Rugby World Cup.

Joe Schmidt had called the process of selecting a 31-man squad for Ireland’s 2015 World Cup campaign an imperfect one but having finally taken his leap into the unknown, the head coach likes the look of the group he hopes can reach at least the semi-finals.

England have selected Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph as their centre pairing for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up game against Ireland at Twickenham.

Joe Schmidt has never been one to shirk the difficult decisions. If anything, he has a reputation for being direct and letting players know exactly where they stand and what is expected of them.

Jordi Murphy’s clenched jaw said it all.

Versatility... It’s been rugby’s buzz word of the summer and nobody’s name has been more prominent in that conversation than Iain Henderson’s who is moonlighting as a lock right now despite his growing renown as a flanker in Ulster.

What better way for Joe Schmidt to reach his World Cup squad conclusions than a full-blooded bout of hand- to-hand rugby combat with the Welsh?

Paul O’Connell will have too much on his mind today to ponder his place in the Irish rugby pantheon as he makes his home Test farewell at Aviva Stadium. But that will suit the national team captain nicely.

England head coach Stuart Lancaster will stand or fall on the decision to drop Danny Cipriani from his final squad of 31 for the World Cup, which will be announced today.

The IRFU has enlisted the aid of a cutting-edge healthcare company based in Cork to ensure its players are in top physical shape for next month’s World Cup.

The man who guided South Africa to World Cup glory believes Ireland are ready to lift the Webb Ellis Cup this time round.

August 31 is a date that has loomed large in Joe Schmidt’s thought process for some time now.

Three weeks ago, the chief question being asked of Joe Schmidt’s Ireland ahead of the World Cup was whether they could inject some zing into what has been a solid rather than spectacular attacking game this last two seasons.

England forwards coach Graham Rowntree has been in regular contact with Dylan Hartley to ensure he would be ready if needed during the World Cup.

Robbie Henshaw can sense the heightened tensions.

Jonathan Davies believes mental toughness must be prominent in Wales’ armoury if they are to emerge from the so-called World Cup pool of death.

Les Kiss insists the Ireland team management remains “very open” to players elbowing their way into the final panel of 31 for the Rugby World Cup when the side faces Wales in the third warm-up Test – and last before the squad deadline – this Saturday.

Just 18 months have passed since Jordi Murphy made his senior bow for Ireland with six minutes against England in the Six Nations, and yet the Leinster back row believes he is a very different beast now to the one that debuted at test level.