Keith Wood has described Joe Schmidt's decision to pick just two specialist scrum-havles in his Ireland World Cup squad is an uncomfortable risk.
The former Ireland captain joined us on Off The Ball tonight to react to today's squad announcement and he gave his opinion on Schmidt's decision to pick just Conor Murray and Eoin Reddan for the No 9 position (with a non-specialist in Ian Madigan as the third option) rather than bringing an extra third scrum-half.
"I agree with bringing another centre and Darren Cave gets the nod. It's a good idea because we haven't been setting the world alight at the centre. I think having a more natural centre is a really good idea to have. But to do it at the expense of a scrum-half, my fear is like a Conor Murray conundrum as the example," said Keith, discussing the contingency plan if the first choice No 9 is injured, concluding that, " for me it's an uncomfortable risk".
Tadgh Furlong's official team headshot ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Keith also gave his take on the surprise addition of Tadgh Furlong and believes it may be a good sign when it comes to first choice loosehead prop Cian Healy, who has been a fitness worry.
"I think it shows maybe that Schmidt is far more confident of Cian Healy than we are because we don't see him or what recovery he has made," said Keith, who also admitted that he was "really upset" for 2014's Ireland Player of the Year Andrew Trimble who has been left out after a year of injury problems.
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