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“It might have been when his knee hit the ground”.

Utilising the full depth of a 31-man squad has been a recurring mantra from head coaches at this Rugby World Cup and Joe Schmidt was no exception when he made wholesale changes for Ireland’s Pool D clash with Romania. Jonny Sexton is not part of this week’s squad.

Gatland must submit his final 31-man squad on August 31, and on the evidence of Saturday’s defeat the likes of fly-half James Hook could now be skating close to missing the cut.

Ireland flanker Tommy O’Donnell has been ruled out of contention for the Rugby World Cup after dislocating his hip in a warm-up match against Wales on Saturday.