There were plenty of disappointed heads after Andy Farrell dropped his 42-man Rugby World Cup training squad, with a host of talent missing out on selection.
Below is our 23 made up of these men, and it certainly puts into perspective the ridiculous depth in Irish rugby at the minute.
Jeremy Loughman - Loose Head Prop
The strangest omission from the squad given that he has been heavily involved with Ireland since the summer (when fit), and given the fact that he is first choice at Munster and ahead of Dave Kilcoyne.
Diarmuid Barron - Hooker
Was ahead of Tom Stewart in the pecking order last year, but a run of average form and the unbelievable rise of Stewart knocked him back down the line.
Like most of his Munster teammates, he has been huge since their resurgence over the last number of weeks.
Stephen Archer - Tight Head Prop
The Corkonian has been on one of the most surprising runs of form we can remember, and playing the best rugby of his career at 35 years of age.
Has excelled in Munster's recent fixtures in South Africa, which is a as good a badge of honour as prop can achieve.
12 November 2012; Irish rugby ; Ireland's Stephen Archer in action during squad training ahead of their side's Autumn International match against Fiji on Saturday. Ireland Rugby Squad Training, Carton House, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Picture credit: Barry Cregg / SPORTSFILE
Jean Kleyn - Lock
Despite being drafted into the South Africa squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship, Kleyn was ready and available for Andy Farrell.
Easily the most in-form player left out, and although he has not featured for Ireland since 2019, surely there was little risk in bringing him into the training squad and seeing whether he could get up to speed with the systems.
Ross Molony - Lock
Molony has a right to feel aggrieved, after being a first choice option for Leinster, only for his World Cup hopes to be dealt a blow with the return of Joe McCarthy.
Still yet to be capped by Ireland, and that chance may have passed him by.
Scott Penny - Blindside Flanker
His call-up to the Ireland squad during the Six Nations caused a bizarre uproar among Munster supporters, but he backed up his selection with some of his best performances in a Leinster jersey in the weeks after.
One for post-World Cup.
5 October 2022; Irish rugby ; Scott Penny of Emerging Ireland, right, passes to teammate Diarmuid Barron during the Toyota Challenge match between Airlink Pumas and Emerging Ireland at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Photo by Johan Pretorius/Sportsfile
John Hodnett - Openside Flanker
The same age as Penny and a similar style of player as well. Hopefully both players can stay fit over the coming seasons and battle it out for Ireland caps.
He was sensational in his man-of-the-match performance in the URC final.
Nick Timoney - Number Eight
Would have been seen as nailed on for the training squad back in November when he won his first Ireland cap against Fiji.
Ulster's poor end of season form clearly hurt his chances of making a run for the World Cup.
Kieran Marmion - Scrum-Half
While London Irish's demise is a sight no rugby fan wanted to see, its upside is that Marmion's new club, the Bristol Bears, will be taking their place in the Champions Cup next season.
An excellent servant to Irish rugby.
Jack Carty - Out-Half
Despite a very forgettable last cameo in an Irish jersey, Carty still remains a classy operator at 10 and the most creative out-half in the country.
A Joe Schmidt darling but a lot less favoured under Andy Farrell.
11 February 2022; Irish rugby ; Jack Carty during the Ireland captain's run at Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Andrew Conway - Left Wing
Amid all the talk of Kleyn, Haley, Loughman, and Hodnett being excluded from the Ireland squad, there were barely any thoughts spared for Andrew Conway.
The only man in this team who was an Ireland starter before getting injured. Desperately unlucky that he couldn't get back in time.
Tom Farrell - Inside Centre
One of the best players to never have been capped by Ireland, and the definition of a classy centre.
At 29-year-old his international window has unfortunately passed.
Antoine Frisch - Outside Centre
After just one season with Munster, he is already in the conversation for the most shrewd provincial signing ever.
A centre partnership with Alex Nankivell next season has the potential to be devastating.
Robert Baloucoune - Right Wing
We wrote before about Baloucoune's disappointing November, which, in hindsight, was his last chance to truly stake a claim for a spot in the squad.
Still, he offers qualities that no other Irish player can give.
5 November 2022; Irish rugby ; Robert Baloucoune of Ireland during the Bank of Ireland Nations Series match between Ireland and South Africa at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Mike Haley - Fullback
We hope it doesn't come to pass, but there is a situation where Hugo Keenan gets injured and Andy Farrell begins to regret not integrating Haley into the Irish squad over the last few seasons.
Comfortably the second best fullback in the country.
Replacements:
Michael Milne, Dave Heffernan, John Ryan, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Nathan Doak, Harry Byrne, Shane Daly.
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