No shocks, but plenty of talking points in Irish World Cup training squad

No sooner is the curtain drawn on the 2022/23 season, than the World Cup comes into focus.

It's just three days since Munster capped off the club campaign with a first URC title success in 12 years, and while the celebrations will go on across the province for a few more days at least, there are bigger things coming down the line for some of Graham Rowntree's players.

In just under three weeks on 19 June, a group of 42 players will meet up in Dublin to begin preparations for the tournament in France, a short turnaround for the Munster and Leinster players in particular whose seasons only ended in the last 10 days.

Head coach Andy Farrell confirmed his provisional group on Tuesday afternoon, with 42 players still to be whittled down to 33 before the tournament begins in September.

Four of the 42 players in the group are yet to be capped, with Calvin Nash, Ciarán Frawley, Jamie Osborne and Tom Stewart all having previously been involved in squads.

While there weren't any real surprises in the squad named by Farrell, there were still some talking points.

Are the days of the bolter behind us?

What stands out most from the group of 42 players named by Farrell is that this is a squad that has been built over time.

Given the layer upon layer of detail in the game now, it seems less and less likely that well see a fresh face pulled from the crowd before a big tournament.

Farrell's squad has been four years in the making. It's the very reason why he brought an extended panel to New Zealand last summer and why they arranged an Ireland A fixture against an All Black Select XV back in November.

While form is important, it doesn't trump cohesion considering Ireland's detailed gameplan, particularly in a team that's won all around them for