This is time to deliver Schmidt tells hopefuls

So the scramble for Ireland survival begins.

Preparations for next month’s World Cup and the make-up of Joe Schmidt’s final squad of 31 players will take a distinct turn towards the cutthroat this weekend when the Six Nations champion embark on their four-Test warm-up schedule against old foes Wales at a sold-out Millennium Stadium tomorrow.

After five weeks of training and conditioning, the process now takes on the air of a reality show as players are challenged to take their chance or pack their bags with Schmidt naming his first matchday squad yesterday and revealing he will start to whittle down his 46-man squad after this Cardiff encounter with seven or eight players facing eviction.