10 Huge Name Players Stood Down for the Nations Championship

The 12 best men's rugby countries in the world embark upon this newly-minted competition, that will play out throughout the traditional July and November international windows. Following three weeks of exhilarating test match action in the Southern Hemisphere, the competition will be concluded up North, with the ultimate bragging rights - and brand new silverware on the line.

Whilst the following three weeks of international action is set to feature some of the biggest names from across the sport, there are also several high-profile omissions for the Nations Championship Southern Series. So, with the opening round of fixtures set to get underway this weekend across three continents, here's a run-down on the biggest names that will be watching from home.

We kick things off with a massive loss for Les Bleus, as France captain and resident magicial dynamo Antoine Dupont has been stood down for the Nations Championship. The original plan for the scrum half was for Dupont to miss the opening week's clash against the All Blacks, and join up with Fabien Galthie's side for the remaining two matches of the Summer. This was due to the 29-year-old's commitments at club level, as Dupont led Toulouse to Top 14 glory this past weekend.

However, the halfback has since endured a late change to the script. Dupont posted on his social media accounts that he has not been given the medical green light to compete, due to a problematic calf issue sustained upon Toulouse's road to the Top 14 Final. Whilst the injury was manageable for the maestro to run out in the show-piece match of the French season, he has since been swapped out of the French squad and replaced with Toulousain teammate Paul Graou.

From one man that has withdrawn due to an injury, to another that was given 'stand-down' orders to prevent picking one up. England are without their regular captain Maro Itoje for the 2026 Nations Championship, with the lock handed an enforced break from the international squad. Itoje exceeded World Rugby's recommended limit of 30-matches per season throughout the 2023/24 (33) and 2024/25 (31) campaigns, and is due some well deserved time away from the pitch.

From his social media accounts, Maro Itoje and his partner are making the most of his time away. The lock jetted out to Mauritius, where he's been soaking up the sun at the luxery Constance Belle Mare Plage resort. In his absence, Itoje's Saracens teammate Jamie George has taken up the captain's armband for the England tour, in what could be the hooker's final opportunity to lead his country, having previously announced his intentions to retire after the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Some news which only broke today in the Wales camp, with RUCK's resident Wales reporter Harry Tovey on hand to deliver the low-down. Wales will go without their former captain Dafydd Jenkins for the Nations Championship, as the lock sustained a shoulder injury in the Gallagher PREM Rugby Final defeat to Northampton Saints, a fortnight ago at the Allianz Stadium.

Exeter Chiefs' director of rugby Rob Baxter also confirmed the enforced absence: “Daf is having a shoulder operation and will miss the Wales summer internationals while rehabbing"

Next up is a man that Springboks fans are gutted to see miss out on the Nations Championship, yet South Africa's opponents will surely breathe a sigh of relief for. Having enjoyed a phenomenal season with the DHL Stormers, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu suffered an untimely ankle injury in the URC Quarter-Final win over Cardiff.

The official diagnosis is a syndesmosis injury - which in simpler terms means the fly half sustained a high ankle sprain. The issue took place in the 52nd minute at the Cape Town Stadium, as Feinberg-Mngomezulu was doing nothing less than running in the Stormers' fourth try of a dominant quarter-final win over the Welsh side. With the URC Player of the Year ruled out for July, the Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has named Mannie Libbok to take over the 10 jersey for Saturday's match with England.

From one star URC fly half to another now, as Jack Crowley will continue his injury rehabilitation away from the Ireland squad for the remainder of the Summer. The Munster man has endured a troublesome leg injury, which began in April, towards the end of the regular United Rugby Championship season.

Crowley was withdrawn just minutes ahead of kick-off, as Munster hosted Ulster at Thomond Park, with a 'dead leg' cited to be the cause of the out-half's withdrawl, having been unable to generate power into his kicks or whilst running on the pitch.

However, the problem progressed into an 'obscure blood vessel issue', which caused the number 10 to miss out on Munster's URC knock-out hopes. Crowley played no part in his provinces' quarter-final defeat to the would-be finalists, the Bulls in Pretoria, with Munster head coach Clayton McMillan and Ireland boss Andy Farrell in agreement to keep Crowley on home soil.

In the mean time, the stage is set for Sam Prendergast to continue his return to form and hold down the green 10 shirt in Crowley absence this Summer, as Ireland take on Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

We keep it all things Irish for this next entrant, with Caelan Doris seemingly destined to not enjoy an overseas tour to the land down under. After an arduous shoulder injury denied back row the opportunity to captain the British & Irish Lions across Australia last Summer, Doris' plans to lead Ireland upon their Nations Championship Southern Series were cut short at the final stage.

The Leinster back row sustained a foot injury in the United Rugby Championship Grand Final win over the Bulls, as he departed the pitch at Croke Park after just six minutes of action. Doris was replaced by Jack Conan in the URC Grand Final, with his long-time Leinster teammate expected to pack down the back of the scrum in Irish green this Summer. Ireland commence their international trilogy against the Wallabies this Saturday, with the stage set for a coaching reunion between Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt at the Aviva Stadium in Sydney.

There are also honourable injury mentions to Doris' Ireland and Leinster teammates Tommy O'Brien and Andrew Porter, who will also remain in Dublin.

Richie Mo'unga needs to wait a little while longer, to make his claim for the All Blacks squad for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The 56-capped fly half has not played for New Zealand since the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final defeat to the Springboks, as he signed a multi-year deal with Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo out in the Japan Rugby League One.

Mo'unga now finds himself on the outside looking in at the All Blacks this Summer, and will return to New Zealand next season with a deal confirmed with Canterbury and his beloved Crusaders. For the time being, there is no place in the squad for the show-stopper, given the terms and conditions of taking an extended break away from New Zealand Rugby.

However, newly appointed All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has voiced his intentions to bring Mo'unga into the fold for the eight-match tour of South Africa, as New Zealand and the Springboks collide in the tour billed as 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

We enter the latter stages of our list now, with a trilogy of England stars closing out the 10-man short-list of the best players that won't feature in the Nations Championship. Next on the list is the man widely regarded as the best flanker in the world right now, with Jack Willis set to enjoy the spoils of a beautiful Summer down in France, having ended his 2025/26 campaign with another Top 14 league title.

Willis lifted the enormous trophy aloft with Antoine Dupont last weekend, as his Toulouse defeated Montpellier 28-20 in the final. The back row has not played for England since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and England Rugby fans and pundits alike are crying out to see him back wearing the red rose, in the hopes that the former Wasps man returns home for a run at the 2027 RWC.

For the time being, the RFU will not change their stance on picking players based overseas, with this age-old rule to the detriment of not picking one of the world's top talents from Toulouse. We also hand an honourable mention to former England wrecking ball Billy Vunipola, who bagged the Challenge Cup title this year, and took Montpellier all the way to the Top 14 Final.

If having Jack Willis being away from England selection is bad enough, then Tom Willis' upcoming PREM Rugby exit has only rubbed salt in the wounds. One of the most in-form players, and the standard bearer for number eights in England, Willis leaves Saracens having been named 2025/26 Gallagher PREM Player of the Year.

Tom Willis' journey is similar to that of his brother, as he too found a safe-haven in France after the financial collapse of Wasps. Willis was plucked out of the uncharted waters of free agency by Bordeaux-Begles, yet Willis would return home to England ahead of the 2023/24 season.

England head coach Steve Borthwick handed Willis eight caps for his country, before the news broke of his upcoming return to Bordeaux for the 2026/27 season. Willis' final England cap came against Wales in the closing round of the 2025 Six Nations, having been chalked off the selection list ever since.

We close off with one of the most decorated men to ever wear an England jersey, yet Steve Borthwick has opted against selecting Owen Farrell for the 2026 Nations Championship. The fly-half is certainly eligible for the tournament, given how he has been at the helm of Saracens for the latest PREM Rugby season.

Farrell proved last Summer that he can still hold his own on the Test match stage, as he joined his father Andy Farrell out on tour with the British & Irish Lions, as a late addition to the squad.

Farrell impressed from the bench against the Wallabies in two Test matches, in what marked his fourth tour with the Lions. Despite this, Borthwick has shown no interest in bringing the 34-year-old back into the England fold, with the likes of George Ford, Fin Smith and at times Marcus Smith preferred for the fly half role.

Farrell's versatility to also cover inside centre has also been overlooked, with Borthwick naming South African-born Benhard Janse van Rensburg amongst his selected midfielders, which has certainly split the opinion upon the rugby social discourse.