Gerry Thornley and Keith Wood joined Ger on Off The Ball this evening to look ahead to Ireland's upcoming fixture against Italy and England's key clash with Australia.
News of Jared Payne's injury reverberated through the Irish camp this afternoon, the outside centre is suffering from a bruised foot and will likely miss Ireland's clash with Italy this coming Sunday.
However, Keith Wood has remained optimistic about Ireland's chances and believes the performances against Romania and Canada have given coach Joe Schmidt little cause for concern.
"If you look at the squad system at the moment and the 31 player, I would say there's a far greater sense of depth than has been at previous World Cups" he said.
He explained that the demands on the squad can change quickly, depending on other results and therefore the team can't rest on the two victories that they have already enjoyed so far this campaign.
"The pressure of a World Cup changes week-to-week and it depends what happens with other teams and not just your own."
Gerry Thornley also speculated over possible centre partnerships and who will accompany Robbie Henshaw to win the coveted number 13 jersey.
"I would imagine it would be Luke Fitzgerald who is best placed to fill that position, howeverKeith Earls has player there in the warm-up games and to his credit has done very well.
"Earls has proved himself to be an excellent asset on the wing, he has proved it in the last World Cup and has done so again in this one. So I would have thought they [the Irish coaching staff] would have looked more at Fitzgerald as a partner to Henshaw in midfield."
Ireland face Italy this Sunday at the Olympic Park and can qualify for the quarter finals with a victory there.
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