Winners and losers from the England Rugby World Cup squad

Jared Wright 07 Aug 2023 11:20 AM

England Rugby World Cup: images of Marcus Smith Billy Vunipola head coach Steve Borthwick alex dombrandt and henry slade — The winners and losers from the England Rugby World Cup squad including Marcus Smith, Billy Vunipola, Alex Dombrandt and Henry Slade.

Following the announcement of England’s 33-man Rugby World Cup squad, we pick out our winners and losers from the selection.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has selected 19 forwards and 14 backs for the tournament, with an average age of 27 years old.

Owen Farrell will captain the side at what will be his third Rugby World Cup, with Ellis Genge and Courtney Lawes named as the two vice-captains.

Here are our winners and losers from the squad.

Winners

Theo Dan

What a week it has been for the young Saracens hooker who made his Test debut for England just two days before being named in the World Cup squad.

The 22-year-old has been tipped for a bright future and made the most of his opportunities with Saracens this year to force himself into the Test reckoning.

He was aided by Luke Cowan-Dickie’s injury but has impressed enough to beat seasoned campaigners to be one of three England hookers in the squad.

Props

Staying in the front-row and veteran tighthead Dan Cole is set to feature at his third Rugby World Cup.

He earned a recall to the England squad earlier this year, having been stuck on 95 caps for his country since the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.

He has since celebrated his Test ton, and at 36, he has been backed to shine at the tournament in France.

His long-time England teammate and friend Joe Marler is another who has forced his way back into the squad. The 79-Test cap loosehead fell out of favour with former head coach Eddie Jones and didn’t feature in the first six Test matches of the Borthwick era.

He is now set to feature in his second Rugby World Cup, having helped England reach the final four years ago.

The likes of Genge, Kyle Sinckler and Will Stuart were nailed-on selections for Borthwick, but one surprise addition is that of Bevan Rodd.

The Sale Sharks loosehead makes the final cut despite yo-yo-ing in and out of the training squad. He gets the nod over Gloucester’s Val Rapava Ruskin, with Mako Vunipola ruled out through injury.

Ben Earl

After being routinely overlooked by ex-coach Jones, Ben Earl finally gets an extended run in the England squad.

A standout for Saracens in the Premiership and Champions Cup, the all-action back-rower has forced his way into the competitive loose forward positions.

He beats the likes of Tom Pearson and Ben Curry to the squad as he looks to make his World Cup debut in France.

Marcus Smith

There was a real risk that Marcus Smith would not make this World Cup squad, as Borthwick could well have opted for just two fly-halves in Farrell and George Ford.

Luckily for the Harlequins playmaker, he has forced Borthwick’s hand and will make his tournament debut.

There is no denying his raw talent; given the right platform, he could be a major player for England in France.

Marcus Smith getting loosey with the goosey™ for two minutes. pic.twitter.com/iXCXG9kL0n

— Andrew Forde (@andrewfrugby) June 24, 2023

Joe Marchant

The Stade Francais-bound centre was one of the standout performers in a poor performance against Wales in their first Rugby World Cup warm-up match, and that looks to have sealed his place in the squad.

His ability to play wing and centre is certainly a plus for the side, while he has seemingly beaten the experienced Henry Slade to the side.

Joe Marchant is another player who has not consistently retained his place in the squad during the World Cup cycle, but after narrowly missing out four years ago, he looks determined to make the most of his opportunity.

Locks

Borthwick has made some bold choices with his locks, with David Ribbans, George Martin and Ollie Chessum still in the single digits for Test caps.

Ribbans and Chessum have certainly impressed when given the opportunity and claim spots ahead of the more experienced heads of Jonny Hill and Charlie Ewels.

Meanwhile, Martin has been selected for the World Cup after just two appearances for England – including his first start against Wales last weekend.

The hard-hitting Leicester Tigers forward can play at a blindside flanker too, and looks set to be a regular squad member beyond the World Cup.

While Borthwick has backed inexperience in his locking department, he does have the experienced heads of Lawes (97 caps) and Maro Itoje (67 caps).

Billy Vunipola

After being overlooked during the Six Nations and still carrying an injury up until recently, Billy Vunipola makes the squad as the only out-and-out number eight.

With 68 Test caps to his name, Vunipola is one of the more experienced back-rowers in the squad, which played in his favour.

His inclusion was certainly surprising, considering he has yet to play a Test match during Borthwick’s time in charge.

However, we cannot discount the experience he brings with Vunipola participating in his third Rugby World Cup.

Losers

Mako Vunipola

Staying with the Vunipolas and Billy’s brother Mako will not be going to the World Cup after the 32-year-old was ruled out of the tournament through injury.

The loosehead prop was a key member of the England squad in 2019 and played in all five Six Nations matches earlier this year.

Alex Dombrandt

Alex Dombrandt’s omission is surprising as he has started every Test match under Borthwick this year.

The number eight looked like a nailed-on selection, but the England boss felt differently, with Billy Vunipola claiming his spot instead.

It’s a crushing blow for the Quins back-rower, who had seemingly beaten the excellent Zach Mercer to the final squad too.

Tom Willis

The former Wasps back-rower was a surprise call-up to the training squad and earned his maiden Test cap against Wales.

While Tom Willis’ call-up may just have been for Borthwick to have a closer look at him, his form in the Top 14 certainly deserved Test recognition.

His work rate, ball-carrying ability and breakdown expertise seemingly ticked a lot of boxes for England; however, like Dombrandt, the England selectors preferred the experienced Vunipola for the role.