Bernard Jackman believes Stuart McCloskey and Gavin Coombes may fall victim to a numbers game when Andy Farrell names his Irish Rugby World Cup squad later this month.
South Africa, New Zealand and England are among those who have already named their 33-man squads for the tournament in France next month, but Farrell is expected to hold off until after their final warm-up game against Samoa on 26 August before making his final selection.
One of the big surprises in England's squad was the absence of experienced centre Henry Slade, who was left out of the panel by head coach Steve Borthwick, despite being a regular in the squad in recent seasons.
On the face of it, a lack of versatility appears to have played a big role in Slade's omission. The Exeter man may have started his career as an out-half, but the bulk of his Test career has been played at outside centre.
Farrell faces a similar dilemma in choosing his squad. With a likely split of 19 forwards and 14 backs, Jackman believes McCloskey may be the unlucky man to miss out from Ireland's midfield.
"That's the problem with him being an out-and-out 12, or someone being a tighthead lock, you limit your opportunities," he told the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
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The Ulster centre started all three games for Ireland in last season's Autumn Nations Series, but Jackman believes that with the likes of Jimmy O'Brien and Jack Crowley both capable of covering centre, a lack of versatility may deny McCloskey a place in the squad.
"I think McCloskey is under pressure. It's not that you wouldn't trust him to start against South Africa, or Scotland or a quarter-final, it's just that in my opinion Robbie, Garry and Bundee are ahead of him, and Robbie is versatile, there's nobody touching Garry and Bundee has always got the nod under Farrell ahead of McCloskey when fit. I think it's tight.
"I think McCloskey, if we go with 14 [backs] he won't go, and that would be a huge shock from an Irish point of view."
Jackman also voiced his concern around Gavin Coombes' chance of making the final 33-man squad.
The former Ireland hooker spoke up Coombes' prospects on last week's RTÉ Rugby podcast, but after the Munster 8 was left out of last week's win against Italy, Jackman says it appears he's not in Farrell's immediate plans.
"I'd be worried for him to be honest. That was a great chance for him to play [v Italy]," he added.
"He may get lots of minutes against Portugal in that unofficial training game. Is he going to play against England? Probably not, and then depending on what gametime Farrell needs for the likes of Josh van der Flier, does Conan need game time, Samoa mightn't be a guaranteed game either.
"I thought he went back to Munster [last year] and improved in all areas that were questionable, particularly work rate. He was always brilliant with the ball, but there were other elements of his game that improved. I felt he was someone who had made a big push.
"When you look at the fact that Doris is going to be our cover at 7, I think they're going to use a Tadhg Beirne as 6 as well. If we are going to chop places in our squad, back row is one of the ones that Farrell might be lean on, and that could effect Coombes (above).
"I liked last season, seeing him play a bit of lock, I thought that would have added to his versatility, but at the moment unless Conan is out I don't think Gavin Coombes is going to get in."
Former Leinster, Connacht and Ulster lock Mick Kearney also joined the RTÉ Rugby pod this week to review the 33-17 win against Italy on Saturday.
And the recently-retired second row says Joe McCarthy's performance on his first Test start has put him right in the mix for a place at the tournament.
"With Joe McCarthy, I thought he had a really positive impact on the game, and if he does make the World Cup squad, he does have a point of difference in terms of being that big, powerful body," Kearney said.
"No disrespect to the guy, if he does make the squad, I can't see him starting or playing in that South Africa game or the Scotland game, but at the same time against the likes of Tonga who are massive men, to have a big body in your ranks like that, it gives a massive amount of confidence to people around you.
"They have these absolute monsters, so sometimes just having someone to counteract that size, or look somewhat similar is of massive benefit to a team like Ireland."
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch live coverage of Ireland's Rugby World Cup warm-up games v England (19 August) and Samoa (26 August) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio, or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
