Jack Nowell, the departing Exeter Chiefs winger, has officially declared that he will not be available for England duty leading up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The speedsters decision stems from his upcoming transfer to France, which has compelled him to prematurely retire from international rugby.
His primary objective is to concentrate on his transition to La Rochelle, the reigning champions of the Heineken Champions Cup for two consecutive seasons.
“I am not doing the World Cup, no World Cup. I am just going to chill and get my knee sorted,” said Nowell.
“It was a hard decision not to put myself in for selection for the World Cup but I thought it was something I had to do for myself and my family as well.
“We are going to make the most of being back home in Cornwall, spend the next few weeks there, and then we have got our testimonial tournament at Sandy Park on June 3.”
Going into more depth about his reasons for effectively calling an early end to his international career, Nowell explained: “Eddie [Jones] leaving, Borthers coming in.
“I was in contact with Borthers at the start and he let me know I wasn’t going to be involved in the Six Nations which is completely fair enough, new coach, new ideas. There comes a stage when everyone has got to make a decisions on the team.
“I was happy with that, it was my last year at the club [Exeter] so I got to really focus on doing my best for the club and try and focus on getting us into the big games at the end of the season.
“When you do sign abroad you have the option of signing pre-World Cup or post-World Cup, for me I made the decision that it was probably best for me and my family to sign a pre-World Cup contract.
He added: “As much as I would like to have gone to this one [World Cup] and given it a good crack, sometimes you have got to read between the lines and understand you are not in the coach’s favour.
“Don’t get me wrong I would love to have fought for my position and got myself back into playing but family comes first for me.”
“Huge stars miss out” – Steve Borthwick set to confirm World Cup training squad
Rumours suggest that England’s preliminary 55-man Rugby World Cup squad will include Tom Pearson, an uncapped player from London Irish, as well as Zach Mercer, a number 8 from Montpellier, and Manu Tuilagi, an ace from Sale Sharks.
However, it is even more intriguing that several big names have reportedly been left out by Steve Borthwick, which severely diminishes their chances of making the final team for the tournament in September.
The England coach is expected to announce his training squad within the next few weeks in preparation for their four warm-up games.
Below are five players who have allegedly been snubbed.
#1. Joe Marler
Marler violated one of Steve Borthwick’s primary rules earlier this year, which is the “no sh**talking policy” for the England team.
Consequently, despite his impressive performance with Harlequins this season, he was excluded from the Six Nations squad.
Recently, Marler received a six-week ban (with four weeks suspended) for making inappropriate remarks about Bristol flanker Jake Heenan’s mother.
As he approaches his mid-30s, the possibility of Marler returning to international play appears increasingly improbable.
