Wales coach Warren Gatland still pondering World Cup squad

Wales coach Warren Gatland has revealed there are still five or six places up for grabs in his World Cup squad.

Gatland will announce his 31-man squad for the tournament in Cardiff next Monday which gives his players one last chance to impress in Saturday's warm-up clash against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.

He said: "To be honest, there are probably 25 or 26 players that are nailed on, and then there is the rest of the squad - it's either/or and making the decision and just trying to get the balance right.

"We haven't finalised whether it's going to be an 18-13 or a 17-14 split (between backs and forwards). We are probably leaning towards the 17-14 split at the moment, but things change.

"We will see how the weekend goes and how the performances go, and hopefully we won't pick up too many injuries.

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"Given the history of World Cups, the players who do miss out are going to be incredibly unlucky, but they are going to be pretty valuable to us as well if there a couple of knocks and we need to call people in. They have just got to keep themselves in pretty good shape.

"When you are picking a World Cup squad, you have got to take your chances. You have seen players in the past that have taken their chances and been selected, and there are others for whatever reason it didn't go their way and they missed out.

"That is the reality of having to pick a squad and make hard decisions, particularly in 50-50 calls. So for a few players on Saturday, whether they are in the starting XV or the bench, their impact or their performances are pretty important."

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