England’s World Cup Squad: who will be culled this week?

England head coach Stuart Lancaster will on Friday cull “up to” a further nine players from his World Cup group, as that 31st August deadline for final squads hurtles into view.

This week the 45 players that travelled to Denver, as well as Nick Easter who stayed at home to rehabilitate a back injury, have been training at Pennyhill Park. Joe Simpson, Tom Croft and Ben Foden will also join the group in the coming weeks to assess their form and fitness, but they must surely face an uphill battle to make the final squad.

So, for several of the 46 currently in camp the World Cup dream will be over this Friday – barring injury. Who will be the unlucky few? Here are our predictions (note: this is what we think will happen, not necessarily what we want to happen!).

PROPS

With this being the first World Cup that will feature eight-man benches, an extra spot in the squad (31 up from 30) has been made for props. At this still relatively early stage, then, it’s not likely that there will be more than one prop leaving the group as there’s a good chance six could make the final squad – although five remains more likely. Matt Mullan, despite an excellent domestic season, is the most obvious name to drop out of this list right now.

Kieran Brookes, Dan Cole, Alex Corbisiero, Joe Marler, Matt Mullan, Mako Vunipola, David Wilson

HOOKERS

Three of these four will make the final squad and with only three warm-up games it’s unlikely Lancaster will see any worth in keeping all of them around. Rob Webber looked to be most precariously positioned, but since Hartley’s indiscretions saw him miss out, the Bath man’s experience should see him leapfrog one of the rookies. LCD seems to be Lancaster’s preference over George, so the Saracens hooker (again, after an insatiable domestic season) could be the unlucky one.

Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jamie George, Rob Webber, Tom Youngs

LOCKS

Four of these five locks will likely make the final squad, although Nick Easter’s ability to play second row does add an element of uncertainty to that. Given that fact, it’s unlikely any of these guys will be culled this weekend as Lancaster will want to give each of them a chance to stake a claim in the warm-up games.

Dave Attwood, George Kruis, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Geoff Parling

FLANKERS

In such a small final squad, versatility is vital. That works against Matt Kvesic, who is largely seen as a specialist openside. Haskell, Robshaw and Wood will make the final squad, and at the moment Clark’s versatility puts him ahead of the Gloucester openside should Lancaster decide to take four flankers (he may not, given there are others in the squad that can cover there).

Calum Clark, James Haskell, Matt Kvesic, Chris Robshaw, Tom Wood

NUMBER 8

Billy Vunipola, as the only fully fit number eight at the moment, isn’t going anywhere, while Ben Morgan will be given as long as possible to prove his fitness. So we come to the curious case of Nick Easter. Given that he can cover eight, six and four/five, he would be a valuable commodity – but is he fit? That is the question upon which his selection hinges. He missed Denver, which works against him, but I’ve a sneaking suspicion that if he can play in the warm-ups, Lancaster may decide to keep him. Final squad selection will be fluid, and he will be up against the likes of Clark and Kruis.

Nick Easter, Ben Morgan, Billy Vunipola

SCRUM-HALVES

One of these four will likely be heading home (especially with Joe Simpson coming in to train at some stage), and sadly for Lee Dickson he is fairly obviously fourth cab off the rank. The other three have been the go to guys in the past season or two, and that won’t change now.

Danny Care, Lee Dickson, Richard Wigglesworth, Ben Youngs

FLY-HALVES

Cipriani’s drink-driving case has been bailed, so he won’t be dropped for that reason. He is one of three specialist fly-halves (although Henry Slade is of course immensely proficient there too), all of whom should be given a shot in the warm-up games.

Danny Cipriani, Owen Farrell, George Ford

CENTRES

The midfield, naturally, is where there is the most controversy. It has been leaked to certain journalists (I’ve no idea how this always happens, but they rarely seem to be wrong) that Sam Burgess and Henry Slade are set to start the first warm-up game against France. With Barritt and Joseph nailed on final squad members, and two likely to be culled this Friday in what is a cluttered area, only one of Burrell, Eastmond and Twelvetrees will stay with the squad. Given his decent form in the Six Nations, and that he is ‘possession’ of the shirt, the Northampton man should be the lucky one.

Brad Barritt, Sam Burgess, Luther Burrell, Kyle Eastmond, Jonathan Joseph, Henry Slade, Billy Twelvetrees

BACK THREE

This is another cluttered, and blurred, area. Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell are in ‘possession’ and both can cover fullback if necessary – they look nailed on for the final squad. Mike Brown, provided he is concussion-clear, is similarly a certainty. You then have Ashton, Goode, May, Rokoduguni and Yarde – all of whom are at risk. Goode will probably remain, as the only other specialist fullback, so it then becomes two from four wingers – and to be honest, it’s massively difficult to predict which way Lancaster will go. So in this case, I’m going to list who I would keep – and that’s Rokoduguni and May.

Chris Ashton, Mike Brown, Alex Goode, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Semesa Rokoduguni, Anthony Watson, Marland Yarde

THE UNLUCKY 8? Matt Mullan, Jamie George, Matt Kvesic, Lee Dickson, Billy Twelvetrees, Kyle Eastmond, Chris Ashton, Marland Yarde

In conclusion, given that Lancaster has stated he will cull “up to nine” players on Friday, I actually think only eight will be dropped, and Nick Easter – who could be a crucial squad component, given his versatility – will be allowed longer to prove his fitness.

What do you reckon? Share who you think will be dropped below the line.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images