Rugby World Cup 2015: Gatland praises Tipuric's best performance

Wales coach Warren Gatland praised Justin Tipuric's "best performance in a Welsh shirt" after Wales beat Ireland 16-10 in a warm-up match in Dublin.

Open-side Tipuric scored Wales' try and was named man-of-the-match after a dynamic display.

The 26-year-old Osprey plays in the same position as team captain Sam Warburton, which Gatland believes is good news for Wales.

"We're blessed to have two world-class sevens," Gatland said.

"We know what a good footballer Tipuric is when he appears in the wide channels, but sometimes it's [lacked] that physicality and competing on the ball.

"But today he was just brilliant and he was a nuisance and just a proper seven, so we're very lucky to have the quality we've got.

"It was probably the best performance I've seen from him in a big match in the Welsh jersey."

Warburton missed the match as a precaution after suffering a "slight" shoulder injury in training.

Time for tough decisions

Tipuric missed out on selection for the 2011 World Cup and, like the rest of the 38-man squad, faces an anxious wait until the final 31 players are named at midday on Monday, 31 August.

Gatland revealed he will name 17 forwards and 14 backs, with three hookers and three scrum-halves.

"There are 24 or 25 players nailed down but we haven't spoken about it and haven't thought about the final make-up of the squad," he added.

"The whole focus of the past few days has been about this match and not the final squad and I have no idea who the 31 is at the moment.

"There's going to be some unlucky players who miss out, but the message to them is just keep your head down because we're not going to go through this World Cup without picking up injuries and there's a chance of being potentially called up.

"The hardest part of the job is when you don't select someone, you leave someone out and that's not the nicest message to give out to the players."

Alun Wyn Jones captained Wales against Ireland in the absence of Sam Warburton

Injuries and players in recovery

Second row Alun Wyn Jones and centre Jamie Roberts were both substituted in the win over Ireland.

Jones appeared to hurt a knee when he was tackled midway through the second half, while Roberts had a rib injury.

However, Gatland said that as far as he knew there was nothing worse than bumps and bruises and admitted that taking Jones off 15 minutes from the end was to avert the risk of injury.

"If it was an international that was a bit more important we probably would have left Alun Wyn Jones on until the end," he said.

"But I said it wasn't worth risking him. So I put James King on and for them to hold out without him was really pleasing."

However, Wales face a tough decision over whether to take prop Samson Lee, back Liam Williams and fly-half Gareth Anscombe to the World Cup.

Lee and Williams have not played since last season, while Anscombe injured an ankle during Wales training.

"We can carry one or two players but you've got to be careful how many - already injured players - you carry into the World Cup squad," Gatland said.

"Last World Cup we had a couple and we may end up the same this time."