Andy Farrell has named an initial 42-player group to begin preparations for the World Cup later this year. Farrell and his staff will eventually name a 33-player Ireland Rugby World Cup squad.

See the full list below. The players Farrell takes to France will have a large bearing on the outcome and this is the place to come for the latest news about Ireland’s Rugby World Cup squad. With an embarrassment of riches, Farrell is sure to have plenty of selection headaches.

Read more: Ireland’s Six Nations squad 

Four years ago in Japan, then captain Rory Best brought the curtain down on his career by retiring after the 46-14 quarter-final defeat to New Zealand. But after beating the All Blacks across a three-match series in their own backyard in 2022, Ireland will arrive in France with renewed confidence.

Will Johnny Sexton make it to his fourth World Cup at the age of 38? Will he skipper the side? Find out the answers to those questions and more below.

Ireland hooker Rory Best retired after their 2019 World Cup exit in Japan (Getty Images)

And as of 2021, it was announced by World Rugby that World Cup squad sizes would be increased from 31 players to 33 for the showcase in France , as part of ongoing player-welfare initiatives. It was made that way alongside plans for there to be at least five days preparation for all matches, with the pool stages extended by a week.

Check out who made the cut, below – and see the full list of Rugby World Cup fixtures here.

Ireland Rugby World Cup squad 2023

Ireland Training Squad

Forwards (22)

Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University)
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere)
Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster)
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf)
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy)
Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne)
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)
Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch)
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)
Cian Prendergast (Connacht/Corinthians)
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)
Tom Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch)*
Kieran Treadwell (Ulster/Ballymena)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)

Backs (20)

Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)
Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians)
Ross Byrne (Leinster/UCD)
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon)
Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster)
Ciaran Frawley (Leinster/UCD)*
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)
Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians)
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)
James Lowe (Leinster)
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor)
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen)
Calvin Nash (Munster/Young Munster)*
Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster/Naas)
Jamie Osborne (Leinster/Naas)*
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)
Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College)
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan)

*denotes uncapped player

Ireland Rugby World Cup Pool

Ireland have been drawn in Pool B alongside reigning champions South Africa, Scotland, Tonga and Romania.

Click here for the entire Rugby World Cup 2023 fixtures list or read on for Ireland’s games (all GMT).

Sat 9 Sept Ireland v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux), 2.3opm

Sat 16 Sept Ireland v Tonga (Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes), 8pm

Sat 23 Sept South Africa v Ireland (Stade de France, Saint-Denis), 8pm

Sat 7 Oct Ireland v Scotland (Stade de France, Saint-Denis), 8pm 

The knockout stages will follow the same format as previous years, with teams from Pools A and B then Pools C and D meeting in the quarter-finals. So Wales and England could meet in the last eight, for example.

QF1 – Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D
QF2 – Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A
QF3 – Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C
QF4 – Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B

Then the semi-finals will be the Winner of QF1 v Winner QF2 and the Winner QF3 v Winner QF4.

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