IRELAND boss Joe Schmidt has left 2014 Player of the Year Andrew Trimble out of his World Cup squad.
The shock omission sees Trimble make way for Ulster team-mate Darren Cave.
Isaac Boss also missed out on a place in the squad as Schmidt decided to bring just two recognised scrum-halves. Any injury to Conor Murray or Eoin Reddan could see Ireland turning to fly-half Ian Madigan at nine, in a move that carries inherent risk in a highly specialist role.
Kiwi head coach Schmidt announce his 31-man World Cup squad this morning.
Ireland face England at Twickenham in their final World Cup warm-up match on Saturday, and open their Pool D campaign against Canada in Cardiff on September 19.
Loosehead Cian Healy will be included despite his continued battles with recovering from neck surgery in May.
Marty Moore's inability to prove his fitness owing to foot trouble saw the Leinster tighthead omitted, however, while veteran centre Gordon D'Arcy also missed the final cut.
Ireland squad for the 2015 World Cup:
Forwards: Rory Best, Sean Cronin, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Paul O’Connell (capt), Jamie Heaslip, Chris Henry, Jack McGrath, Jordi Murphy, Sean O’Brien, Peter O’Mahony, Mike Ross, Donnacha Ryan, Richardt Strauss, Devin Toner, Nathan White.
Backs: Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Dave Kearney, Rob Kearney, Robbie Henshaw, Paddy Jackson, Ian Madigan, Conor Murray, Jared Payne, Eoin Reddan, Johnny Sexton, Simon Zebo.
