KEITH EARLS WILL be on the plane when the Ireland squad set off for Japan on Wednesday.

An update issued by the IRFU this morning confirmed that the Munster winger will retain his place in Joe Schmidt’s travelling party for the World Cup.

The Ireland head coach has been spared any late personnel headaches, with all 31 members of his squad declared fit for the tournament.

There had been concern over Earls since he was forced to hobble off in the second half of Saturday’s win against Wales at the Aviva Stadium. Nevertheless, he’s now set to appear in his third World Cup.

Having been held back due to tendonitis in his knee, the victory over Wales marked Earls’ first outing since last season.

Schmidt confirmed afterwards that the 31-year-old Limerick native was experiencing discomfort in his quad: “Potentially he could have played on, he feels like he could have, but no way in a game like that are you going to keep someone on.”

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Ireland’s World Cup campaign begins against Scotland in Yokohama on Sunday, 22 September (8.45am Irish time).

Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Bernard Jackman make the case for Ireland winning… and tanking at the Rugby World Cup, as we gear up for Wales again:

Source: The42 Rugby Weekly/SoundCloud