Byrne and Carty 'have become really important to us', says Joe Schmidt

Joe Schmidt has called on Ross Byrne to make the most of his opportunity and stake a claim to a place in Ireland’s World Cup squad after handing the fly-half his first Test start against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

With first-choice number 10 Johnny Sexton still playing catch-up in his pre-tournament preparations after an early summer thumb injury and heir apparent Joey Carbery set to miss the rest of the build-up to Japan as he recovers from an ankle injury suffered against Italy 12 days ago, the Ireland management has thrown down the gauntlet to the other fly-halves in the extended training squad, Leinster’s Byrne and Connacht’s Jack Carty, to grab their chances on the biggest stages.