Joe Schmidt is unhappy that former Munster backs coach Felix Jones has joined the province's former head coach Rassie Erasmus with South Africa.
If they reach the quarter-finals, Ireland will almost certainly face either New Zealand or South Africa - and Jones, who was actually in Japan as part of Ireland's management team on the 2017 summer tour, knows Schmidt's methods and playbook.
"It's an awkward situation with Felix, I'd a long chat with him yesterday (Wednesday)," said Schmidt.
"It's a fantastic opportunity for him to go to a World Cup with a team that are on a massive upward swing.
"But it’s awkward because...you don’t have to be a rocket scientist, he came to Japan with us the last time, so he was right in amongst us.
“He was with us, he’s seen everything that we deliver and would have a great knowledge of even the language we use in our camp, so it’s awkward for us."
It was a shock to Munster to lose Dubliner Jones, who joined the province as a player from Leinster, towards the end of last season.
“There were a couple of opportunities here (for him), but I’d be a massive fan of what Felix has got to offer in the future, and it'll be a great learning experience for him," said Schmidt.
“I just hope that we don’t suffer as a consequence because he’s a smart coach, he already knows a lot about us and if we do get to a quarter-final it has to be either New Zealand or South Africa or Italy that we do play against.
"That would mean he could be directly opposite us on the coaching bench”.
If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
