Shane Horgan has been included in the squad for the forthcoming World Cup despite suffering a knee injury prior to Ireland's defeat to Scotland yesterday.
The Leinster winger is expected to be out of action for four weeks after suffering a medial ligament tear but coach Eddie O'Sullivan hopes he will be available to face Georgia in the second match of the tournament.
In the back row Alan Quinlan and Stephen Ferris get the nod ahead of Keith Gleeson and Jamie Heaslip. Tommy Bowe loses out to Brian Carney but the Ulster man is on standby should Horgan fail to recover from his injury.
O'Sullivan said: "Shane's injury means a four-week lay-off, depending on his healing powers. That puts him in with a chance of making the second Pool game against Georgia.
"Whether he makes that deadline we have set him is another matter but we're giving him every chance. He's a good healer and we believe he can make that.
"Bowe will stay with the squad until we get more data on Shane. Keeping our options open is the best we can do at the moment. Shane is a 50-50 chance to make the Georgia match. We'll know more over the next couple of weeks so we may make a decision sooner."
Horgan's inclusion means just one place remained open in the back three and O'Sullivan has opted for Munster's Brian Carney over Bowe.
Both wingers featured at Murrayfield yesterday in a straight shoot-out for a ticket to France but Carney, who converted from rugby league five months ago, has edged the contest.
O'Sullivan has opted to take six back rows to the World Cup, completing the toughest decision the Ireland coach has had to make in finalising the squad.
After settling on a 16-14 split between forwards and threequarters, the most pressing concern for O'Sullivan was how to divide the back and second rows.
Quinlan's ability to cover both departments has earnt him the nod with three locks — Paul O'Connell, Malcolm O'Kelly and Donncha O'Callaghan — included.
With only the trio of specialist locks travelling to France, a sixth back row spot has been created and O'Sullivan has opted for the versatility of Ulster's Stephen Ferris to fill the position.
The selection of Quinlan and Ferris means World Cup heartache for Gleeson, Mick O'Driscoll and Heaslip who were all in the shake-up for the squad.
Elsewhere there were no surprises with Brian O'Driscoll leading Ireland at a World Cup for the first time — Keith Wood was skipper in Australia — with Paul O'Connell deputising.
Geordan Murphy will be appearing at his first World Cup after a broken leg suffered in a warm-up game against Scotland four years ago prevented him from appearing at the last tournament.
Ireland 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'Driscol
Ronan O'Gara
Eoin Reddan
Peter Stringer
Andrew Trimble
Paddy Wallace
