Picking an Omitted Rugby World Cup XV

The die has been cast by the 20 coaches choosing their squads for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The final squads of 31 have been named, with those last few difficult decisions made and players told whether they are on the plane or on the sofa.

As usual, there is a host of high-profile players who have been omitted from the squads.

The reasons range from form and fitness to family problems and, in some cases, off-field fracas.

But we wouldn’t mind betting this combined "omitted XV" would put up a decent showing against most of the main contenders for this year’s Webb Ellis Cup.

Here is your forgotten XV.

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15. Israel Dagg

Part of New Zealand’s 2011 World Cup-winning side, Israel Dagg will not get the chance to help them do the double.

The Crusaders full-back has been in and out of the setup, thanks to a dip in his own form and the rise to prominence of Ben Smith.

The New Zealand Herald’s Gregor Paul claims to have seen the end to Dagg’s All Blacks career from a long way off: "It's an uncomfortable truth, but Dagg has been on the slide for a long time. The way things have turned out, it may actually have been that he sold a vision of himself in 2010 and 2011 that wasn't actually a fair representation of what he was all about."

Still, you could argue that most Six Nations sides would find a place for a player of Dagg’s calibre in their squad.

He is still only 27 and has 14 tries in his 49 caps, and with a squad boasting just one specialist No. 15 in its outside back selections, Steve Hansen and his coaches may well be crossing their fingers that Smith avoids injury.

14. Corey Jane

Corey Jane is another 2011 winner jettisoned this time around by New Zealand.

The 32-year-old last played for his country in the thumping handed out to the USA in 2014 and loses out to wings Julian Savea, Waisake Naholo and Nehe Milner-Skudder.

The latter two have three caps between them, so Jane’s experience gained during a 53-cap career was not deemed enough to outweigh the explosive talents of Milner-Skudder and Naholo.

The New Zealand Herald’s Gregor Paul says this is the end of Jane’s international career: "Back in 2008, he was the Milner-Skudder of his time—a smaller wing, yet strong, fast and more than capable of imposing himself…but at 32, his time is probably up. Naholo, Smith, Milner-Skudder and Savea are not only the present, they are the future."

11. Andrew Trimble

Ulster wing Andrew Trimble was Ireland’s 2014 Player of the Year but will be watching from the sofa as the Six Nations champions launch their World Cup campaign.

Coach Joe Schmidt has left the 30-year-old at home after a toe injury that kept him out of the 2015 Six Nations recurred in Ireland’s first World Cup warm-up with Wales.

Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, Dave and Rob Kearney and Simon Zebo form the back three options in Schmidt’s squad with Leinster’s Luke Fitzgerald picked as a centre but experienced on the wing also.

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13. Manu Tuilagi

The story for the first half of 2015 in English rugby was whether or not Manu Tuilagi would win his battle to be fit after a long-term groin injury.

As the clock on the season ticked down, it became evident that the Leicester Tigers powerhouse would not get any game time before the summer at the very least. It was going to be touch-and-go.

Then the agonising wait for the man who destroyed the All Blacks in 2012 was rendered academic.

Tuilagi admitted assaulting two female police officers and a taxi driver in an incident in Leicester in April and was promptly banned from playing for England until 2016, per Gavin Mairs in the Telegraph.

The emergence of Jonathan Joseph in the No. 13 jersey has softened the blow of losing Tuilagi, but so impactful is the 24-year-old thanks to his natural strength and try-scoring record for England that it was not inconceivable to have seen him switch to No. 12 to form a potent mixture of power and guile with the Bath man.

12. Frans Steyn

Frans Steyn was part of South Africa’s World Cup preparatory squad while he recovered from a chest injury, but he was released when the news broke that his brother had taken his own life, per stuff.co.nz.

Steyn’s huge boot, undoubted talent and vast experience would likely have won him a place in Heyneke Meyer’s final selection.

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10. Danny Cipriani

Danny Cipriani was perhaps the most talked-about decision Stuart Lancaster had to make after Sam Burgess.

In the final summary, Lancaster opted to stick with the tried-and-trusted fly-half options of George Ford backed up by Owen Farrell, leaving 27-year-old Sale man Cipriani out in the cold.

Many thought the former Wasps star had done enough with a try-scoring cameo against France in England’s latest World Cup warm-up that showed enough of his ability to break a game open late on to earn inclusion.

One expert disappointed to see Cipriani left out was 2003 World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward, who wrote in the Mail on Sunday: "Cipriani has the X-factor, an amazing player, and I’d have had him in the England team a long time ago."

Other notable No. 10s to miss out are New Zealand pair Aaron Cruden and Lima Sopoaga, as well as Welsh utility man James Hook.

9. Mike Phillips

Two Lions tours, 94 caps for Wales and a starring role in the last few Six Nations triumphs Wales have bagged were not enough to send Mike Phillips to another World Cup.

The Racing 92 man was trimmed from Warren Gatland’s squad before the final cull, showing a great faith in Phillips' successor Rhys Webb and even more in Webb’s deputies Gareth Davies and Lloyd Williams.

Both are relative novices at Test level in comparison to Phillips’ vast experience

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8. Nick Easter

Nick Easter was brought in from the international wilderness during England’s 2015 Six Nations campaign after an impressive first half of the season for Harlequins.

He was curiously deployed from the bench as a makeshift second row and has ultimately not been able to force his way past preferred No. 8s Billy Vunipola and Ben Morgan.

7. Heinrich Brussow

Heinrich Brussow is one of two high-profile South African back row players to miss the cut.

The Cheetahs man is reported, per Sport24.co.za, to have a difficult relationship with South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer and, until this summer, had not figured for the Boks since their 2011 World Cup quarter–final defeat to Australia.

But he played against New Zealand and in both Tests against Argentina, suggesting he was edging his way toward a place in the final 31.

That has proved not to be the case and, amid stories suggesting the Boks may yet be prevented from playing in the tournament after a row over the selection of a quota of black players, Brussow was one of those named by the Rand Daily Mail as having missed out due to the selection policy:

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Much has been made of Meyer having to meet a nine-black-player goal…Loose forward Siya Kolisi’s selection — ahead of Brüssow and Coetzee — is also clouded with uncertainty for all the wrong reasons. It should have nothing to do with colour but the specifics of what each player offers.

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6. Marcell Coetzee

The second big name from the South Africa back row to miss the cut is Marcell Coetzee.

Although he was named by the Rand Daily Mail as potentially having missed out due to South African sport’s quota rules, the player did also suffer an untimely injury in the surprise home defeat to Argentina earlier in August.

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5. James Horwill

It is a relatively fast fall from grace for Reds lock James Horwill, who was captain of Australia in the 2013 Lions series and now finds himself without a seat on the plane to England.

Horwill also captained the side in the 2011 showpiece but has missed out this time to Kane Douglas, despite showing up well when given the chance in the recent Rugby Championship.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Phil Lutton thinks the Queensland stalwart has been hard done by:

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(Coach Michael) Cheika always had a firm plan, one that wasn't going to be altered by a surprise showing during The Rugby Championship. Perhaps he didn't expect Horwill to produce quite so much, nor others to produce quite so little. Yet it will be Kane Douglas, an undoubted Cheika favourite, that has taken Horwill's seat.

 

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4. Sebastien Vahaamahina

Giant French lock Sebastien Vahaamahina was shed from the squad before the group was whittled down to the final 31.

The Clermont man played in the 2014 autumn internationals but was only involved in France’s final Six Nations game in 2015 when he came off the bench against England.

Alongside Vahaamahina, another big name lock to miss out is South Africa’s Flip van der Merwe.

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3. Census Johnston

Toulouse prop Census Johnston looked to have revived his ambitions to play in the 2015 World Cup for Samoa when he baffled his French employers by declaring his availability for Samoa’s summer Test with New Zealand, per stuff.co.nz.

But that was not enough for the 34-year-old to earn a place in the final group, and his omission has probably helped him avoid an awkward conversation with his club.

2. Richard Hibbard

Lions Test hooker in 2013, Richard Hibbard’s distinctive mane will not feature in Wales’ World Cup campaign.

The 38-cap, Gloucester-based No. 2 has been eschewed by Warren Gatland in favour of Ken Owens, Scott Baldwin and Kristian Dacey.

As Steve James points out in the Telegraph, Hibbard’s appearances total one more than the three chosen men put together. James wrote: "In truth he has never been the same player since the Lions tour, but while it had become increasingly obvious that he was not first choice, with his fitness levels questioned and his lineout throwing becoming more erratic, one assumed his experience would see him retained."

Hibbard’s exclusion alongside Mike Phillips and James Hook brings the number of caps left at home by Gatland between these three to 218.

Ireland and Australia have only picked two hookers in each of their parties, while Wales have plumped for three, and so Hibbard’s chances are far lower than the No. 2s on those other nations’ standby lists of getting a call from his coach.

The other high-profile hooker to play no part this autumn is England’s Dylan Hartley, whose ban picked up during Northampton’s Premiership semi-final defeat cost him a place in Stuart Lancaster’s squad.

1. Alex Corbisiero

A horrendous injury record stretching back to his starring role in the 2013 Lions tour has done for Alex Corbisiero’s World Cup hopes.

The Northampton prop missed out on a place in the final Red Rose party after picking up a back injury in an appearance off the bench during England’s World Cup warm-up win over France at Twickenham, per Gavin Mairs in the Telegraph.