England winger Jack Nowell confirms his international retirement

The speedsters decision stems from his upcoming transfer to France, which has compelled him to prematurely retire from international rugby.

His primary objective is to concentrate on his transition to La Rochelle, the reigning champions of the Heineken Champions Cup for two consecutive seasons.

“I am not doing the World Cup, no World Cup. I am just going to chill and get my knee sorted," said Nowell.

“It was a hard decision not to put myself in for selection for the World Cup but I thought it was something I had to do for myself and my family as well.

“We are going to make the most of being back home in Cornwall, spend the next few weeks there, and then we have got our testimonial tournament at Sandy Park on June 3.”

Going into more depth about his reasons for effectively calling an early end to his international career, Nowell explained: “Eddie [Jones] leaving, Borthers coming in.

"I was in contact with Borthers at the start and he let me know I wasn’t going to be involved in the Six Nations which is completely fair enough, new coach, new ideas. There comes a stage when everyone has got to make a decisions on the team.

“I was happy with that, it was my last year at the club [Exeter] so I got to really focus on doing my best for the club and try and focus on getting us into the big games at the end of the season.

“When you do sign abroad you have the option of signing pre-World Cup or post-World Cup, for me I made the decision that it was probably best for me and my family to sign a pre-World Cup contract.

He added: "As much as I would like to have gone to this one [World Cup] and given it a good crack, sometimes you have got to read between the lines and understand you are not in the coach’s favour.

"Don’t get me wrong I would love to have fought for my position and got myself back into playing but family comes first for me.”

However, it is even more intriguing that several big names have reportedly been left out by Steve Borthwick, which severely diminishes their chances of making the final team for the tournament in September.

The England coach is expected to announce his training squad within the next few weeks in preparation for their four warm-up games.

Below are five players who have allegedly been snubbed.

Marler violated one of Steve Borthwick’s primary rules earlier this year, which is the "no sh**talking policy" for the England team.

Consequently, despite his impressive performance with Harlequins this season, he was excluded from the Six Nations squad.

Recently, Marler received a six-week ban (with four weeks suspended) for making inappropriate remarks about Bristol flanker Jake Heenan's mother.

As he approaches his mid-30s, the possibility of Marler returning to international play appears increasingly improbable.

After a difficult summer with the England team, May has had a poor season in the Premiership, only managing to score four tries in 20 appearances across all competitions.

Despite being a crucial member of Eddie Jones' England squad and the second-highest try scorer for his country, with only Rory Underwood ahead of him, May's international career appears to be in jeopardy with the emergence of new talent like Henry Arundell, Tommy Freeman, Cadan Murley, Ollie Hassell-Collins, and Adam Radwan.

At 33 years old, it seems like May's time at the international level may be coming to an end.

With a move to France pending, the Exeter Chiefs flier went from vice-captain in the Autumn to being completely out of the squad for the Six Nations, reportedly without a phone call.

Brutal from Steve Borthwick, who is reportedly being heavily influenced by RFU chiefs according to Eddie Jones.

Yesterday, any chance of a recall seemed to go out the window as Nowell was fined £10,000 by the Rugby Football Union for criticising a refereeing decision on Twitter.

The 30-year-old accepted his post prejudiced the game when appearing in front of an independent disciplinary panel on Wednesday.

He has to undertake a referees’ course, with the fine being donated to charity.

Nowell said referee Karl Dickson’s decision to show Woodburn his second yellow card was “one of the worst decisions” he had ever seen.

Despite having not featured in Steve Borthwick's plans since the former Leicester Tigers Head Coach took the reigns with England, Billy Vunipola is always a worthwhile asset for a squad to have during a long competition.

However, the Saracen's chances of an England return wore ever thinner after he suffered a knee injury in mid-April. In an eerily similar style to that of Jonny Gray, Vunipola was stretchered off the pitch, as he came down hard on his knee against La Rochelle, in the Heineken Champions Cup.

Vunipola has been confirmed to be written out of Mark McCall's plans for the rest of Saracens' season, with the powerhouse number-eight set to miss the 2023 Gallagher Premiership Play-Offs.

It was a sorry sight for Sarries fans, as their back-rower was forced into an early exit, during the first half of Saracens quarter-final defeat to the French flyers.

Thankfully for Vunipola, it has been reported that after undergoing surgery, he should be fit ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

However, given Borthwick's early tendency to overlook the Number Eight, and an extended time on the side-line hindering Vunipola's match-fitness, it is becoming increasingly unlikely for Billy to make a Rugby World Cup return.

Yet as we know, injuries can happen at any time, and a Vunipola-sized reinforcement could well bolster a depleting squad in the latter stage of the competition.

Despite being a favorite of Eddie Jones, the Sale Sharks lock is facing the possibility of being dropped from the England squad due to the emergence of Ollie Chessum from Leicester Tigers.

Regaining his place in the England team may prove difficult as David Ribbans from Northampton Saints is also performing well, and Hugh Tizard, who won the Saracens breakthrough player of the year award, has been recommended for a call-up.

As a fun fact, it's worth noting that Hill is related to Paul Loughlin, a former rugby league international.