They sit in the waiting room with frayed fingernails and butterflied stomachs, lines learnt, prepared for these final auditions. It’s been a long summer for much of the rugby playing world, players toiling away in World Cup summer camps, going over their tournament scripts, ready for these last few chances to stake a claim in a month of warm-ups that kick off in earnest this weekend.
The cast lists will be dripped out over the next few weeks, the last of the tournament squads named on Monday 28 August. Argentina, England, Italy and New Zealand go early, with announcements scheduled for Monday; Fiji and South Africa follow a day later. England assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth described selection as the unavoidable “elephant in the room” this week – the players know that one fluffing of lines could mean curtains for their World Cup hopes.
