When Ireland and Scotland meet in their opening World Cup clash in Yokohama on Sunday fortnight it will be an entirely family affair — at least according to experts in human genetics at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the University of Edinburgh.

This Saturday’s game against Wales may mark the start of Jonathan Sexton’s season but it will mark the last time that an Ireland team takes to the field in Dublin under the watchful eye of Joe Schmidt.

Twelve days on from Twickenham, the bounce is back and so is the determination to sign off for Japan on a positive note this Saturday so Conor Murray can put Ireland’s England hammering down to a mere blip.

Agustin Pichot’s ears must have been burning yesterday at lunchtime as Joe Schmidt responded to the Argentine’s criticism of the decision to select a project player ahead of Devin Toner in Ireland’s World Cup squad.

It is a well-balanced Ireland squad, assembled by Joe Schmidt in forensic detail, with the intention of negotiating a successful seven-week World Cup campaign.

In the same way that we shouldn’t have been too crestfallen by the heavy defeat in Twickenham, Ireland’s confidence-boosting win against Wales in Cardiff last weekend also needs to be put into context.

Joe Schmidt has spent four years building a greater strength in depth into the Ireland squad but Jonathan Sexton knows that the success of such endeavours will be judged on how the team fares at the World Cup.

Pichot's take on the decision, aired via Twitter on Monday, follows on from his assertion last week that the world rankings were “ridiculous” given Warren Gatland's Wales had usurped New Zealand as No.1 despite never having beaten the All Blacks.

When Bill Laukitis searched for a suitable symbol to celebrate his wedding, his thoughts turned to beer.

So now the real work begins. The debates over squad selection are over, at least inside the Irish camp, and now comes the business end of Joe Schmidt’s preparations for Japan and the 2019 World Cup.

Joe Schmidt on ...

Jean Kleyn: No matter what Agustin Pichot thinks, the South African-born Munster lock has qualified by right and earned his place the hard way after three years of acclimatisation in Limerick.

Jack Carty extended his 27th birthday celebrations into an extra day yesterday with the news he had been included in Ireland’s 2019 World Cup squad.

Malcolm O’Kelly has told Devin Toner not to switch off after he was sensationally left out of Joe Schmidt’s 31 man Rugby World Cup squad.

Ireland’s deep backline resources for the forthcoming World Cup campaign have been underlined by the quality of the players Joe Schmidt has decided to leave at home.

Joe Schmidt praised Rory Best’s work ethic and ability to bounce back from is personal Twickenham disappointments as he confirmed the veteran hooker as Ireland’s captain to lead his team into the World Cup in Japan.

Joe Schmidt described the difficulty of narrowing his Ireland 2019 World Cup squad down from 45 over the course of the summer before making his final cut to bring the number to 31 on Monday.

The IRFU named the group that will travel to Japan today, six days earlier than planned, after the shock demotion was leaked.

In another unexpected move, head coach Schmidt preferred Luke McGrath as his back-up scrum-half over Conor Murray’s long-standing number two Kieran Marmion.

Devin Toner is expected to be a shock omission from Ireland’s 31-man World Cup squad.