Staying at home.

Some big names will be at home this month when the Rugby World Cup kicks off over in Japan. With teams only allowed to bring a squad of 31 players with them, there was always going to be some high-profile casualties.

But what would a team of players not picked to go to Japan looked like? Pretty damn good actually. We’ve had a go and there’s some serious talent being left behind. We haven’t included injured players because that would be unfair. A lot of the big names that are out injured would likely be travelling if they weren’t sidelined.

We have however included players who are judged to be ‘ineligible’ by their respective nations such as Will Skelton, Rhys Webb and Simon Zebo, because if they really wanted to pick them – they could.

Liam Squire also makes our team because while technically he has made himself unavailable, he has admitted he would accept a call-up if the All Blacks suffer any injuries.

The Unselected World Cup XV

15. Simon Zebo (Ireland)
14. Santiago Cordero (Argentina)
13. Huw Jones (Scotland)
12. Ngani Laumape (New Zealand)
11. Teddy Thomas (France)
10. Danny Cipriani (England)
9. Rhys Webb (Wales)

1. Jack McGrath (Ireland)
2. Dylan Hartley (England)
3. Owen Franks (New Zealand)
4. Devin Toner (Ireland)
5. Will Skelton (Australia)
6. Liam Squire (New Zealand)
7. Jordi Murphy (Ireland)
8. Facundo Isa (Argentina)