Brian O’Driscoll will retain the captaincy for the Ireland’s Rugby World Cup campaign. Shane Horgan has been named in the squad of 16 forwards and 14 backs however there are still worries about the knee ligament strain that he suffered against the Scotland. On the 24th of August the Irish will take on the Italians at Ravenhill in a world cup warm up test match.

Ireland’s Rugby World Cup Squad:

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.

Backs: Isaac Boss, Brian Carney, Gordon D’Arcy, Girvan Dempsey, Gavin Duffy, Denis Hickie, Shane Horgan, Geordan Murphy, Brian O’Driscoll (C), Ronan O’Gara, Eoin Reddan, Peter Stringer, Andrew Trimble, Paddy Wallace.

Brian O’Driscoll will be Ireland’s leader for the 2007 RWC