KEY POINTS:
DUBLIN - Outside back Shane Horgan has been included in Ireland's 30-man World Cup rugby squad, despite a knee strain which may rule him out of some pool games.
Horgan was diagnosed with a knee ligament strain following a scan in Dublin after twisting his knee in the 21-31 loss to Scotland in Edinburgh yesterday.
"The time line is probably four weeks at best for him -- that puts him with a shot at making the second pool match against Georgia," Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan said.
"I am keeping the door open for that reason. He is such an important player to us."
Ulsterman Tommy Bowe will travel with the squad to France this week for training and will act as cover for Horgan.
Ireland will play their first World Cup pool game against Namibia on September 9 in Bordeaux. They face Georgia also in Bordeaux on September 15.
Centre Brian O'Driscoll will captain the team and the forward contingent contains four props with Marcus Horan, John Hayes, Brian Young and Simon Best all named in the squad.
There are three hookers included, with Jerry Flannery, Rory Best and Frankie Sheahan completing the front row.
Neil Best, Stephen Ferris and Alan Quinlan join Denis Leamy, David Wallace and Simon Easterby in the backrow.
"This was one of the toughest moments of my coaching career to select this 30-man squad," O'Sullivan said.
"The players in the enlarged World Cup squad have all worked their guts out in pre-season and this has been the case throughout the camps over the last number of weeks."
O'Sullivan said yesterday's match had been a good test for Ireland although his side's defence had been disappointing.
"The Scotland game solved some of the selection issues in the backrow and also the back three and after four years of preparation, we are now on the run-in to the tournament," he said.
"The challenge for us all now is to compete and be as successful as we can be in the tournament."
The team left today for the south of France for five days of training before returning to Belfast to prepare for a final warmup game against Italy in Ravenhill on August 24.
IRELAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
Backs: Isaac Boss, Brian Carney, Gordon D'Arcy, Girvan Dempsey, Gavin Duffy, Denis Hickie, Shane Horgan, Geordan Murphy, Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Eoin Reddan, Peter Stringer, Andrew Trimble, Paddy Wallace.
Forwards: Neil Best, Rory Best, Simon Best, Simon Easterby, Stephen Ferris, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Marcus Horan, Denis Leamy, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Malcolm O'Kelly, Alan Quinlan, Frankie Sheahan, David Wallace, Bryan Young.
- REUTERS
