Decision time - The tough RWC calls Andy Farrell has to make

The auditions are almost over, and now Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has to make his call.

On Sunday afternoon we'll find out the 33 names that have made it into Ireland’s Rugby World Cup squad.

Saturday night’s final warm-up against Samoa in Bayonne is unlikely to provide any last minute curveballs in the Irish coach’s thinking. It’s quite likely he’ll have pencilled in his selections in recent days, and only injury or a potential suspension coming out of tonight's game will change them.

Injuries can always complicate selection, and while Ireland have had to deal with a few over this warm-up period, it looks like they’ve made their way through August in decent nick; foot injuries for Dan Sheehan and Jack Conan provided the biggest scares but the news seems positive on both. Particularly with Ireland’s two toughest games coming late in the pool stage, time is on their side.

One of the biggest decisions Farrell will have to make will be the split of forwards and backs.

The 33-man squad is an increase on the 31-man panel Joe Schmidt had to contend with four years ago and the most likely scenario is that those extra places will be filled by an extra prop and scrum-half.

Ireland are the last of the major Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides to announce their squad for the tournament, with almost all of them so far going for 19 forwards and 14 backs, New Zealand being the only tournament contender to go for an 18/15 split.

For much of the summer, it’s been expected that Farrell would opt for 19 forwards and 14 backs, but as the tournament creeps closer the argument for an 18/15 spit is compelling.

If, as expected, he takes three players in each position of the front row, the versatility of Ireland’s back-five forwards means he