Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has named 17 players with no Rugby World Cup experience in his 31-man squad for this month's tournament. The squad will be led by Paul O'Connell and still boasts a total of 1043 caps, even without veteran outside back Andrew Trimble, who was left out of the squad. "The players have worked incredibly hard over the past two months. Sunday was a difficult and very long day for the coaching team and an anxious one for many players," Schmidt said. "There were some very tight decisions, particularly in the back three and it was also a challenge to make sure that key positions were covered as much as a squad of 31 players allows." The coach said he will keep a number of players from outside the squad on standby throughout the tournament. "A number of players were very unlucky to miss selection. We know from observing past World Cups that it's important for us to keep track of their performances because some of them are likely to be involved in the tournament."