Andy Farrell: No guarantee everyone will feature in warm-ups

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says there's no guarantee that all 41 available members of his squad will feature across the Rugby World Cup warm-up games.

The Six Nations champions began preparations for next month's tournament with a comfortable, but at times patchy, win against Italy on Saturday, with further games to come against England and Samoa before the squad is cut down to a final group of 33.

It was a largely experimental side that took to the field against Italy on Saturday night, with Ciarán Frawley, Calvin Nash and Tom Stewart making their debuts off the bench, while the likes of Cian Prendergast, Joe McCarthy and Caolin Blade all featured for their second Irish caps.

With Johnny Sexton suspended and unavailable for the remaining warm-up matches, it leaves 18 players looking to pick up game time before the opening match of the tournament against Romania in Bordeaux on 9 September in Bordeaux.

The majority of that group are frontline internationals who look all but certain to make the final squad, barring injury.

Ross Byrne, Gavin Coombes, Kieran Treadwell and the uncapped Jamie Osborne look like being the obvious names who will be hoping to earn a chance to shine before the final squad is named in late August.

And while forwards coach Paul O'Connell said there was a good chance every member of the squad would see some game time over the coming weeks, Farrell has insisted he won't be handing out caps for the sake of it.

"No, just take it [selection] as it is," he said after Saturday's 33-17 win.

"Watch training, judge everyone accordingly, getting the right balance, ensuring that people have enough game time and that people that deserve a chance will get a chance.

"But it is about making sure that we prepare the 33