2015 World Cup Potential Squads

[TRF Mr Fish]

That time again where someone posts a thread to get a bit of banter going, with the international season coming to a close for another year. Predict the squads/XV's for the 2015 World Cup, and try and give an indication why.

NZ Squad (32):

Props (5): Owen Franks, Tony Woodcock, Charlie Faumuina, Wyatt Crockett, Ben Afeaki
Hookers (3): Andrew Hore, Dane Coles, Ben Funnell
Locks (4): Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Brodie Retalick, Dominic Bird
Loose Forwards (5): Kieran Read, Sam Cane, Victor Vito, Brad Shields, Steven Luatua
Halfbacks (3): Aaron Smith, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, TJ Perenara
First Fives (3): Dan Carter, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Cruden
Centre (4): Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Richard Kahui, Sonny Bill Williams
Outside Backs (5): Israel Dagg, Julian Savea, Charles Piutau, Ben Smith, Cory Jane

Props: Only non-current All Black is Ben Afeaki, who has been within the selector's sights for a wee while. If he can stay injury free this coming season he'll have a good shot and getting a few tests as soon as next year. Another potential player is Toby Smith, also from the Chiefs, who is a strong scrummager and fantastic round the field. If the selectors have any reservations about Crockett, Smith is an adequate replacement.

Hookers: Hore and Mealamu won't both go all the way to 2015. Coles looks to have the potential to go the long haul in the black jersey. Other potential hookers are Ben Funnell, Liam Coltman and Hika Elliot. Ben Funnell looks to have a good chance, as he'll have the best opportunity to get a starting berth in Super Rugby next season with only Corey Flynn ahead of him.

Locks: The current three top locks are NZ's best, and a fourth lock will be added at some point, presumably in the place of Ali Williams who may last another year. Dominic Bird has all the characteristics to push through, providing he can get some starts for the Crusaders. Brad Thorn is also too old to make it through to 2015.

Loose Forwards: Major call here is to cut Richie McCaw. I don't think his body will last until 2015. Sam Cane is a very able replacement. Brad Shields and Steve Luatua are fantastic blindside flanker options, who should make some more great progress this coming Super season. One of them will probably be in the next All Blacks squad, in place of Adam Thomson. Ardie Savea is an option too, though I'm not yet convinced by him.

Halfbacks: Pretty self explanatory. Weepu will be gone soon.

First Fives: Current crop. Also fairly self explanatory.

Centres: Will SBW back? Possibly. If he's true to his word it sounds like he'll try to make a return to NZ before the next World Cup in order to win a place in the squad. As there are no obvious centre options outside of the main three plus Ben Smith, I think SBW has a good chance of making it. Francis Saili is another option. I think Piutau and Dan Carter are also capable of covering the midfield.

Outside Backs: Though there may be room for another back somewhere, I think the guys I've selected will cover the positions adequately. Kahui can also cover wing, of course. Likewise SBW has been used there, at times.

1 Woodcock
2 Hore
3 Franks
4 Romano
5 Whitelock
6 Shields
7 Cane
8 Read (c)
9 Smith
10 Carter
11 Savea
12 SBW
13 Kahui
14 Jane
15 Dagg
16 Coles
17 Crockett
18 Faumuina
19 Retalick
20 Vito
21 Kerr-Barlow
22 Cruden
23 Piutau

 

[TRF_heineken]

Weird that you didn't include Matt Todd to that squad... I thought he would be the perfect substitute for Mccaw??

let me do a Springbok one, even though there has been many such posts already:

Props: Coenie Oosthuizen, Steven Kitshoff, Marcell van der Merwe, Heinke van der Merwe, Pat Cilliers, Frans Malherbe, Jannie Du Plessis
Hookers: Bismarck Du Plessis, Chilliboy Ralepelle, Adriaan Strauss, Deon Fourie
Locks: Eben Etzebeth, Andries Bekker, Juandre Kruger, Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Anton Bresler
Back Row: Willem Albets, Marcell Coetzee, Francois Louw, Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Duane Vermeulen, Siya Kolisi, Jean Cook, Shaun Adendorff
Scrumhalf: Francois Hougaard, Cobus Reinach, Piet van Zyl, Nic Groom
Fly Half: Johan Goosen, Pat Lambie, Elton Jantjies, Handre Pollard
Centre: Juan De Jongh, Francois Venter, Jan Serfontein, Paul Jordaan, Tim Whitehead, JJ Engelbrecht
Outside Backs: JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana, Raymond Rhule, Willie Le Roux, Zane Kirchner, Lwazi Mvovo

Most of these guys have now been blooded, so the transition will be easier going forward. That being said, I think it's still way too early to say who will go or not. there are some guys that won't be mentioned now, who will surprize everyone next year or so, and this speculation could be all in vain.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Who would you cut if you had to narrow it down to 32 odd players?

 

[TRF_heineken]

Who would you cut if you had to narrow it down to 32 odd players?

The ones not on form, come World Cup time...

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Never enough of these things LOL.

Hein, I can't see that you've missed someone obvious except Beast maybe? The man would still be young enough for a prop.

My picks (5) Beast, M Van der Merwe, Kitshoff, Cilliers, Oosthuizen

Hookers pick themselves and Fourie and Ralepele will have to battle it out for 3rd spot.

My picks (3) Du Plessis, Strauss, Ralepele

Locks looking good, Du Toit and Bresler will surely make a name for themselves in 2013 injury permitting and with Etzebeth already having established himslef I am very excited. Just hoping that Gerhard Mostert will come back to SA to make a claim as I have a lot of tiime for him.

My picks (4) Etzebeth, Mostert, Bresler, Du Toit

Spies?!!!!! No!!!!!

tough one and hoping CJ Stander comes back but without him my picks (5) Alberts, Botha, Coetzee, Marnus Schoeman, Jaco Kriel (though Kolisi and Cooke will push hard and if F Louw and Stander come back they'll be up for it as well)

Scrum halfs (3) Van Zyl, Vermaak, Hougaard though Reinach and Groom or Schreuder might sneak in; 9 shirt is up for grabs still IMO

Fly halfs (3) Goosen, Lambie, Pollard

Centers (4) De Jongh, Serfontein, Jordaan, Whitehead
I'd have included F Steyn but I'll only consider him if he shakes off 8 kilo's. Jaque Fourie has stated that he'll be coming back in 2015 to push for a Bok berth.

Outbacks (5) Taute, Le Roux, JPP, Rhule, Ludik

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

That's a very different team to the current one... Interesting.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

1 Beast
2 Du Plessis
3 Van der Merwe
4 Etzebeth
5 Du Toit
6 Alberts
7 Schoeman
8 Botha (c)
9 Vermaak
10 Goosen
11 Le Roux
12 Serfontein
13 JdJ
14 JPP
15 Taute

16 Kitshoff
17 Oosthuizen
18 Strauss
19 Bresler
20 Coetzee
21 Hougaard
22 Lambie
23 Ludik

 

[TRF_heineken]

Never enough of these things LOL.

Hein, I can't see that you've missed someone obvious except Beast maybe? The man would still be young enough for a prop.

My picks (5) Beast, M Van der Merwe, Kitshoff, Cilliers, Oosthuizen

Hookers pick themselves and Fourie and Ralepele will have to battle it out for 3rd spot.

My picks (3) Du Plessis, Strauss, Ralepele

Locks looking good, Du Toit and Bresler will surely make a name for themselves in 2013 injury permitting and with Etzebeth already having established himslef I am very excited. Just hoping that Gerhard Mostert will come back to SA to make a claim as I have a lot of tiime for him.

My picks (4) Etzebeth, Mostert, Bresler, Du Toit

Spies?!!!!! No!!!!!

tough one and hoping CJ Stander comes back but without him my picks (5) Alberts, Botha, Coetzee, Marnus Schoeman, Jaco Kriel (though Kolisi and Cooke will push hard and if F Louw and Stander come back they'll be up for it as well)

Scrum halfs (3) Van Zyl, Vermaak, Hougaard though Reinach and Groom or Schreuder might sneak in; 9 shirt is up for grabs still IMO

Fly halfs (3) Goosen, Lambie, Pollard

Centers (4) De Jongh, Serfontein, Jordaan, Whitehead
I'd have included F Steyn but I'll only consider him if he shakes off 8 kilo's. Jaque Fourie has stated that he'll be coming back in 2015 to push for a Bok berth.

Outbacks (5) Taute, Le Roux, JPP, Rhule, Ludik

I Completely forgot about Taute and Frans Steyn and Jaque Fourie... Where's my head???

lol.

I didn't pick Beast because of this Heart condition of his, and there could be some damage that we don't know of, in all likelyhood, he'll miss the WC.

I picked Spies because of my biasness... but I still think his best is yet to come for the Boks.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I Completely forgot about Taute and Frans Steyn and Jaque Fourie... Where's my head???

lol.

I didn't pick Beast because of this Heart condition of his, and there could be some damage that we don't know of, in all likelyhood, he'll miss the WC.

I picked Spies because of my biasness... but I still think his best is yet to come for the Boks.

I hope Beast will be alright. If he can't play for the Bokke that will be a shame but I hope he doesn't have heart problems outside of rugby.

RE Spies it's interesting that your Bulls bias doesn't go for either of Botha or Stander both who I feel are already better 8's than Spies at the Bulls (okay, so Stander is at Munster currently).

I really do believe that one of Schoeman and/or Kriel will overtake both Brussow (if he manages to stay fit) and Flouw (even if he comes back to SA) in the openside department and both are just more all round players. I'm hoping Kolisi can grow into that role for the Stormers as he is strong over the ball and offers a lot in general but his first instinct is to hold the man up and drive him back rather than go low and go for the ball which is something that I hope he adds to his arsenal and then I'd love for him to play for the Bokke.

 

[TRF_heineken]

I hope Beast will be alright. If he can't play for the Bokke that will be a shame but I hope he doesn't have heart problems outside of rugby.

RE Spies it's interesting that your Bulls bias doesn't go for either of Botha or Stander both who I feel are already better 8's than Spies at the Bulls (okay, so Stander is at Munster currently).

I really do believe that one of Schoeman and/or Kriel will overtake both Brussow (if he manages to stay fit) and Flouw (even if he comes back to SA) in the openside department and both are just more all round players. I'm hoping Kolisi can grow into that role for the Stormers as he is strong over the ball and offers a lot in general but his first instinct is to hold the man up and drive him back rather than go low and go for the ball which is something that I hope he adds to his arsenal and then I'd love for him to play for the Bokke.

I did have Arno Botha in my squad...

but like I said, way too early... next year's Super Rugby will be the start of the competition for many players as they now know what is expected from them and what HM wants.

 

[Peat]

England...

Props: Alex Corbisiero, Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, Shaun Knight, Dave Wilson

Corbs and Cole are our best two props and young enough. Marler hasn't made the impression people were hoping for, think he's going to lose out to Vunipola, who seems just as agile but 2 stone bigger. Our tighthead options aren't all that at the moment, Henry Thomas keeps getting injured, Wilson isn't challenging Cole at all - so punting on Knight making it big. Wilson made it in at the last moment as with 2 prop benches you need someone to cover for knocks, Wilson can do a job on both sides. Ish.

Hookers:

Hartley, Youngs, Brooker

Self-evident until the last one, think he's the best of the crop at Quins and will have more opportunities to shine there than Webber at Bath

Locks: Parling, Launchbury, Lawes, Matthews

Our three best locks and the guy who I think will be the next one to break through, Matthews is genuinely big unlike the others and offers an option that should take him ahead of people like Savage, Kitchener, Kruis et al. Garvey will probably continue to be ignored unless he moves to a big club.

Back-row: Croft, Wood, Robshaw, Morgan, Vunipola

Our best back rows currently, and the guy who should be the next best 8 to emerge. Right now, I don't feel like anyone's going to break into the back row reckoning in time.

Scrum-halfs: Care, Youngs, Dickson

Ho-hum

Fly-halfs: Burns, Ford

Gambler's choice

Centres: Twelvetrees, Barritt, Tuilagi, Joseph

Should be obvious

Back three: Foden, Brown, May, Wade, Eastmond

Pace *****es! And Fightin' Mike Brown.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

No best-of-2012-nominee-Farrell? Out of love with Ashton as well?

I have to say the squad looks very very good and the majority of those guys have already shown their class at test level and with time to settle and getting to know each other better England should be pushing hard again come 2015. Especially the forwards where you have world class quality in depth.

I think SA are a year behind England ITO bringing the pieces together after both have been in a rebuilding phase. Super rugby 2013 should give us a bit more to work off of and I trust HM to bring the guys in.

 

[tompaton7]

Wales' 32 man squad for 2015 World Cup

Props: Gethin Jenkins, Rhys Gill, Paul James, Samson Lee, Adam Jones

Hookers: Ken Owens, Richard Hibbard, Kirby Myhill

Locks: Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Evans, Luke Charteris, Bradley Davies

Back-Rowers: Dan Lydiate, Aaron Shingler, Justin Tipuric, Sam Warburton, Toby Faletau

Scrum Halves: Tavis Knoyle, Gareth Davies, Lloyd Williams

Outside Halves: Rhys Patchell, James Hook, Rhys Priestland

Centres: Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Ashley Beck

Outside Backs: George North, Alex Cuthbert, Hanno Dirksen, Eli Walker, Liam Williams, Leigh Halfpenny

FR - There's a bit more depth there than there was at the start of the autumn. Aaron Jarvis and Scott Andrews have stepped up to the plate. In the long run, I think Samson Lee will take over, maybe not before the world cup though as Adam Jones is still world class. I also see Rhys Gill taking over Gethin if he comes back from England as he's great in general play and is a strong scrummager. Hooker has a lot to talk about, like whether Huw Bennett will ever be back, but injuries leave that in the balance. Matthew Rees will run out of steam and Kirby Myhill seems the most logical replacement.

Locks - can't really see those four being usurped at the moment. Lou Reed did a good job Saturday but he is more of a workhorse lock like Charteris and Bradley Davies offers something different.

Back-Row - Ryan Jones' days seem to be coming to an end. Aaron Shingler is a like for like replacement in some regards, except with a bit more pace. He's making his tackles as well. He could improve his breakdown presence though. At openside, we are spoilt for choice. Warburton will remain first choice in my opinion but there are others like Josh Navidi and Sam Lewis who could challenge Tipuric. We shall see. At Number Eight, Lewis Evans seems to be the only one who could take on Faletau and he's nowhere near his standard. Ryan Jones could apply pressure.

Scrum-Halves - Mike Phillips is coming to the end of his days. We'll see Gareth Davies coming through sooner than later which would be great. Williams and Knoyle will probably play second fiddle to him if I was picking the team.

Outside-Halves - Rhys Patchell will get picked soon if he can stay injury free. He has the ability to bring Roberts into the game which is what Gatland wants. Hook will stay in as a utility and Priestland is like Patchell, those two could be in a dog fight.

Centres - self-explanatory at the moment.

Outside Backs - Dirksen will be Welsh qualified soon and will add something similar to Shane Williams, as will Eli Walker. I think that's what Wales need right now.

Starting Team

1. Rhys Gill
2. Ken Owens
3. Adam Jones
4. Alun Wyn Jones
5. Luke Charteris
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Sam Warburton
8. Toby Faletau
9. Gareth Davies
10. Rhys Patchell
11. George North
12. Jamie Roberts
13. Jonathan Davies
14. Hanno Dirksen
15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Richard Hibbard
17. Gethin Jenkins
18. Samson Lee
19. Ian Evans
20. Justin Tipuric
21. Tavis Knoyle
22. James Hook
23. Alex Cuthbert

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Hanno Dirksen. Sounds Afrikaans?

Edit; LOL, strange to see that he and his cousin/brother? played for the USA before he moved to Wales after being born in SA. What a round-about route. Is he any good?

I find it fascinating that most Saffa emmigrants prefer commonwealth countries and the USA over the Netherlands.

 

[Big Ewis]

mmmm....I'm afraid Michalak won't be there. Dusautoir most probably won't either.
Debaty probably won't either...Mas will have to be replaced for sure...Clerc probably won't either...

It sucks !!!

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Just a question, where are the Aussie posters?

 

[Big Ewis]

^ yeah it sucks honestly, I'm a Wallaby fan. I'd like some more Aussie interaction on here !!

 

[madflyhalf]

Aussie 2015 RWC potential squad will be not too different from 2011 except for the openside flankers.
After bringing only one (Pocock) in 2011, they will bring 3: Pocock who will play 8-man, Gill who will play 6 and Hooper who will play 7

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Aussie 2015 RWC potential squad will be not too different from 2011 except for the openside flankers.
After bringing only one (Pocock) in 2011, they will bring 3: Pocock who will play 8-man, Gill who will play 6 and Hooper who will play 7

Oh my sack. Can you imagine the shenanigans going on on the deck! Especially after 2011 and Lawrenc giving Pocock free reign I'd hate for anyone to go up against that sillyness with a shy ref!

 

[TRF_heineken]

Oh my sack. Can you imagine the shenanigans going on on the deck! Especially after 2011 and Lawrenc giving Pocock free reign I'd hate for anyone to go up against that sillyness with a shy ref!

Didn't you hear?? in 2014 the new ELV's will take place... one such rule is:

"no team wearing Yellow, or have a kangaroo on their chest, may at any time during the run of play use their hands in any contact situation, ie. Scrums, Lineouts, Rucks and Mauls. Unless the referee's surname is Lawrence and wears 3 eyepatches."