One down, three to go. Ireland got their Rugby World Cup warm-up schedule underway on Saturday with a commanding win over a second-string Welsh side in Cardiff.

Of the many impressive performers in the green shirt, Keith Earls was arguably the pick of the bunch and former Leinster and Ireland second-row Trevor Hogan says the Munster winger and centre gives Ireland another dimension.

"He looked so sharp and dangerous to the point now where I would say Schmidt has to seriously consider him as an option at 13. He offers a little more than Jared Payne in attack. His footwork was phenomenal. It was probably something we didn't have that much during the Six Nations. Every time he got the ball, he was beating men on the outside or the inside," said Trevor on Off The Ball, also describing Eoin Reddan's performance as "outstanding" at scrum-half.