A 'Missing the Rugby World Cup' XV - Part 1

With England, Australia, South Africa, Samoa and Argentina having named their respectively 33-man Rugby World Cup spots, there’s already significant blood on the selection chopping block.

Here we have compiled a composite 15 of current players who will not be present in France, having missed their national team’s rosters – or in some cases – opted out of the race entirely.

1. Mako Vunipola –  The loosehead’s unfortunate absence stems from a lingering injury that has prevented his participation in the Rugby World Cup.

2. Jamie Blamire – The Newcastle Falcons hooker failed to secure a spot in the squad, likely due to extremely tough competition in his position, where he probably lost out to Saracens’ rookie Theo Dan.

3. Thomas du Toit – On the margins with the Boks, ‘The Tank’ found himself on the fringes of the Springboks’ selection, possibly due to strong competition in the squad.

4. Lood de Jager – Didn’t recover from an injury nursed during the Rugby Championship, with Jacques Nienaber favouring a fit Kleyn as a replacement.

5. Alun Wyn Jones – Jones voluntarily withdrew himself from consideration, a decision made earlier in the year. He has since signed for Toulon.

6. Jed Holloway – Holloway faced tough competition from emerging young talents within the Wallabies squad, resulting in his surprise omission by Eddie Jones.

7. Michael Hooper – Despite being a Wallaby MVP, Hooper’s persistent ankle injury likely raised concerns about his performance and fitness, leading to the shock exclusion that blindsided the sport this week.

8. Alex Dombrandt – Dombrandt faced strong competition from Billy Vunipola and his own subpar Six Nations performance, contributing to his exclusion.

9. Ryan Lonergan – The halfback’s unexpected omission appears to be the result of a preference for Fines-Leleiwasa, who is yet to win a single Wallabies cap.

10. Handre Pollard – Pollard’s injury forced the coach’s decision not to bring him to France, even though he is a star player for the team and he had said that he would go even if he didn’t play a warm-up game.

11. Matías Orlando – The ageing veteran’s inability to secure a spot in the Los Pumas’ squad under Cheika’s leadership was one of maybe two close calls the Aussie coach had to make in the squad. England’s Johnny May deserves an honourable mention here, the Gloucester speedster unable to outrun Father Time.

12. Lukhanyo Am – Mediocre form due to injury contributed to Am’s omission despite being the player of the season last year. A real shocker given his Test pedigree and form coming into 2023.

13. Henry Slade – The big England selection shocker, Slade’s unexpected exclusion surprised many fans and experts alike, raising questions about where Steve Borthwick’s heading in terms of England’s macro strategy.

14. Joe Cokanasiga – Unlucky. Despite improved fitness, a leaner and meaner physique wasn’t enough to secure  the Bathman’s pot, probably losing out to Henry Arundell in what is otherwise a relatively settled outside-back division for England.

15. Quade Cooper – Okay, so we’re adding him a little out of position at 15 to accommodate Pollard. Cooper’s omission in favour of a single designated flyhalf selection (Carter Gordon) is pretty wild, even by Eddie Jones’ standards. We could alternatively have included Reece Hodge here.