IRELAND'S DAN SHEEHAN has said that he is 'delighted' to have made Ireland's World Cup squad after picking up an injury this month.
Leinster's Sheehan sprained foot ligaments in the warm-up clash against England at the Aviva Stadium ten days ago.
While Ireland went to a training camp against in Portugal, Sheehan stayed behind in Dublin to get on with his rehabilittion.
There had been fears that Sheehan would miss the enterity of the tournamen, but that was not the case, but he was named in Andy Farrell's final 33-player squad for the tournment in France.
Speaking on Irish Rugby TV, Sheehan said, "Yeah, delighted, bit of a worry last week coming off the pitch, but I had a great week in rehab and the lads have done a great job trying to get me back, so I'm really excited to get on the plane to France," he told Irish Rugby TV.
"I can’t wait to actually get over there. I was annoyed to miss the week with the lads the last week in France, so I'm looking forward to seeing the World Cup hype over there.
"I’ve already seen a few photos of Tours; they're very welcoming towards the Irish already.
"[We] pack up today [Monday], and we have a few days off to chill out, spend time with family and friends before we leave on Thursday; it's an exciting few days."
Ireland kicks off their World Cup adventure in Bordeaux against Romania on Saturday, September 9.
Sheehan wants Ireland to start the tournament with a statement win.
"It’s a massive game for us," added Sheehan.
"[We have to] make sure we put a good mark down on the first attempt.
"There’ll be a massive crowd of Irish supporters, which will be great to see, and we need to put on a show for them."
Ireland 2023 Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards (18):
Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham,Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher, David Kilcoyne, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Peter O'Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier.
Backs (15):
Bundee Aki, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Keith Earls, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jonathan Sexton
Ireland Fixtures, Rugby World Cup 2023 - Pool B:
- Ireland v Romania, Saturday 9 September, Stade de Bordeaux (2.30pm Irish time/3.30pm local time)
- Ireland v Tonga, Saturday 16 September, Stade de la Beaujoire (8pm Irish time/9pm local time)
- Ireland v South Africa, Saturday 23 September, Stade de France (8pm Irish time/9pm local time)
- Ireland v Scotland, Saturday 7 October, Stade de France (8pm Irish time/9pm local time
