"Still bitter" - The 5 players Woodward cut from his 2003 World Cup squad

Tuesday, 14 September 2021 at 13:23

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byRugby Rucker

The dreaded call sign flashed up on the mobile phones (if they had them in 2003) of five England players in 2003 as they were the final players cut from Sir Clive Woodward's 2003 Rugby World Cup squad.

The tournament began with host nation Australia defeating Argentina 24–8 at Stadium Australia in Sydney. Australia went on to defeat New Zealand 22–10 in the semi-final, to play England in the final.

Along with a try to Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson kicked four penalties and then a drop-goal in extra time to win the game 20–17 for England, who became the first northern hemisphere team to win the Webb Ellis Cup.

Here, we remember the unlucky group of players who missed out on England's triumph down under, although some did join the squad later.

1. Austin Healey

The versatile joined the squad in Australia as injury cover, however he was never officially added to the squad after players recovered from knocks, meaning he was unable to pick up a medal for the success despite flying out. No wonder he's still bitter about it.

Where is he now? Working as pundit/co-commentator for BT Sport's excellent rugby coverage

2. James Simpson-Daniel

The speedster narrowly missed selection to the final 30 for the 2003 Rugby World Cup because of a back problem, although he had celebrated his first Six Nations Championship start some months earlier with a try in the match against Italy. Definitely has to be considered a wasted talent.

Where is he now? He's now working in foreign exchange

3. Graham Rowntree

Despite playing in the 2003 pre-World Cup trial match in France, Rowntree was omitted from Woodward's squad, which won the tournament. The head coach admitted that leaving Rowntree behind was one of the hardest decisions he had to make in his time as England head coach.

Where is he now? Following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where he coached Georgia, he joined Munster as scrum coach

4. Simon Shaw

Shaw played in all three 2003 Rugby World Cup warm up matches. He was not named in the original 30-man squad but was flown out to Australia due to an injury to Danny Grewcock, earning him an MBE as part of the World Cup winning team. He keeps this in a drawer as he feels he didn't "win" it as he never played in a match.

Where is he now? In 2011, Simon Shaw became a director of Rugby Hospitality company Set Piece Events

5. Ollie Smith

Despite the centre being a firm favourite of Woodward, as his Lions selection in 2005 would prove, Smith was omitted from the squad due to a lack of game time.

Where is he now? No idea