In 2007 the starting XV was decided long before the squad headed to France; eight years on notwithstanding that the circumstances are very much different, we are heading to a World Cup where selecting the squad will be much more difficult that choosing the actual team.

Eight years ago the starting side was in place long before the tournament and there was little or no change. They were all rested when about 30 of us headed to Argentina for a tour.

The message was clear - we were going to Argentina to battle for the remaining places in the squad and, barring injury, we knew there would be little change to the established XV.

Deliberating

Joe Schmidt, by contrast, has always picked on current form and if everyone stays injury-free from here - and that's unlikely - then aside from the wing positions he wouldn't have much deliberating to do.

But, of course, it is not simply a matter of putting out your best 15 each day. There are a lot of games in a short space of time and players are going to have to be managed around that.

And the coach is going to be working off a squad of 31. Yes, injured players can be replaced but it is not a matter of inter-changing them as an injured player can't be brought back into the squad again.

That's what makes the selection of the 31 so difficult. How can you maximise your resources? There are stories out there about Ian Madigan training at scrum-half. But I can't see Ireland heading there with just two specialist No 9s, although you can see the logic behind it.

Look at it this way. Schmidt has indicated he is going for a 17-14 split between his forwards and backs.

Now, let's say he starts with a backline of Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald on the wings, Jared Payne and Robbie Henshaw in the centre and Jonathan Sexton and Conor Murray at half-back. That's a very good backline.

If, as expected, he brings three out-halves and three scrum-halves, then you add Madigan, Paddy Jackson, Eoin Reddan and Isaac Boss to the squad.

That leaves just three places as cover for the back five. How do you take your pick from Felix Jones, Andrew Trimble, Dave Kearney, Keith Earls, Fergus McFadden, Darren Cave, Gordon D'Arcy and Simon Zebo? Five of them are going to be left at home.

A year ago, again going on form after winning the Six Nations, you would have automatically slotted Trimble and Dave Kearney is as your starting wingers. Now the two of them will be lucky to make the squad and I think at least one of them will not travel.

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So, who do you pick? Versatility is going to be the key factor. I think Zebo stole a big march last weekend playing at full-back against Scotland and I think he will edge it, with Jones and Dave Kearney losing out.

That's really hard luck on them because both of them are class and could make a huge contribution if given the chance. But the numbers don't stack up for them.

Bowe needs to play a lot better but I think Schmidt will back him and have him as his starting No 14, and I think he will go with Fitzgerald on the other wing, with Trimble getting the nod as the other winger in the squad.

Of course, an injury or two could change everything.

Up front, a lot will depend on whether Cian Healy is fit; if he is not then it will be a case of slotting in Dave Kilcoyne as his replacement. I think Kilcoyne will lose out if Healy is fit as Jack McGrath is ahead of him in the pecking order and I reckon Michael Bent will also go given that he can cover both loosehead and tighthead.

Schmidt will bring three hookers and that means Rory Best, Sean Cronin and Richardt Strauss are on the plane.

Mike Ross is the starting tighthead but the battle for the back-up No 3 is going to be tight. I had fancied Marty Moore to get the nod but his injury problems have opened the door for Nathan White. It's going to be a close call but I'm going to go for White on the basis of matches played.

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The back five picks itself for the starting side. Devin Toner will partner Paul O'Connell in the second-row, and Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip will form the back row.

There will be just four spots left to cover the back five, and here again versatility will be the name of the game.

That's why I think Donnacha Ryan will be included. He has had a torrid time with injury but timing is everything and he is back flying at just the right moment.

He can cover several positions in the back five, and so too can Iain Henderson.

Tommy O'Donnell would have pushed Chris Henry a long way but the big Ulsterman has returned to top form at just the right time after his battle with illness and it's great to see him back.

I think Jordi Murphy will get the remaining spot, not least as he too has an excellent track record of delivering under Schmidt.

But the dilemma which Schmidt and every other national coach faces is how do you allow for the unforeseen?

You nearly have to imagine what you do if each player gets injured, what cover have you, what switches can you make within the confines of the 31.

It is not like a Six Nations campaign where you can switch your squad around from game to game. The governing body allows for changes to be made where there are injuries, but there are restrictions.

For all the planning, a lot of it will come down to luck. Some teams will suffer injuries in areas where they don't have sufficient cover, others will get the usual quota but it will have little or no impact on how the team performs.

Master

Schmidt has proven himself to be a master of planning minute detail to allow for all sorts of eventualities, but this is the ultimate test.

Often, the best laid plans just go out the window. It took the All Blacks a long, long time to back up their inaugural success of 1987 four years ago.

They suffered many disappointments in between those two victories, and who would have thought when they finally ended the famine that it would be the fourth-choice out-half, Stephen Donald, who would deliver the match-winning score?

He had been away on a beer and fishing expedition when the call came after Dan Carter and Colin Slade were injured and, sure enough, the third-choice out-half Aaron Cruden didn't make it to half-time in the final against France, so Donald was drafted in to become the unlikely hero.

I just wonder if you looked back at all the detailed planning Graham Henry and Steve Hansen did in the build-up to that World Cup, was Donald's name ever even mentioned?

The Men To Answer Ireland's Call

FORWARDS (17)

Michael Bent (Leinster)

Rory Best (Ulster)

Sean Cronin (Leinster)

Cian Healy (Leinster)

Jamie Heaslip (Leinster)

Iain Henderson (Ulster)

Chris Henry (Ulster)

Jack McGrath (Leinster)

Nathan White (Connacht)

Jordi Murphy (Leinster)

Sean O’Brien (Leinster)

Paul O’Connell (Toulon)

Peter O’Mahony (Munster)

Mike Ross (Leinster)

Donnacha Ryan (Munster)

Richardt Strauss (Leinster)

Devin Toner (Leinster)

BACKS (14):

Isaac Boss (Leinster)

Tommy Bowe (Ulster)

Keith Earls (Munster)

Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster)

Robbie Henshaw (Connacht)

Paddy Jackson (Ulster)

Rob Kearney (Leinster)

Ian Madigan (Leinster)

Conor Murray (Munster)

Jared Payne (Ulster)

Eoin Reddan (Leinster)

Jonathan Sexton (Leinster)

Andrew Trimble (Ulster)

Simon Zebo (Munster)

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