"So unlucky" - Top five England players to never feature at the Rugby World Cup

In the buildup to the ultimate international rugby event, England has two more matches in this year's Six Nations tournament. Following that, they will engage in four Rugby World Cup warm-up matches to fine-tune their skills and readiness.

Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that a few prominent English stars have never had the opportunity to represent their country at the Rugby World Cup, despite their appearances in international matches.

Here, we highlight five exceptional players who fall into this category.

Narrowly missing out on three Rugby World Cups, Danny Cipriani is one player who England fans believed should have had many more caps for his country.

16 appearances whilst wearing the Red Rose is not a bad international record, yet Cipriani was overlooked throughout his career. The versatile back missed the grade for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, even after spending the previous Summer in the England training camp.

Predominantly a fly half, but able to excel at full back, Cipriani was unable to surpass Jonny Wilkinson for the 10 jersey, yet was not given the opportunity to play at 15.

Cipriani's England debut was surrounded with off-field controversy, as he was photographed leaving a nightclub just two days prior to the match. Injury halted his momentum to build towards the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and Cipriani subsequently missed out on the 2015 squad.

An unbelievable talent on the pitch, Cipriani's off-field controversies certainly halted his international career.

With just two full first team England caps in 2006, Anthony Allen's international career never fully took-off.

Shining in the centre at Gloucester, Allen would light up Kingsholm Stadium, and blow the roof of the Shed End with magical performances in the Premiership. As England began building to the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Brian Ashton was experimenting with centre partnerships throughout the Autumn Internationals.

Allen partnered up alongside Newcastle Falcons' Jamie Noon, to take on the All Blacks during the November series.

Allen was injured during the debut, and failed to re-gain his position in the squad. However, Allen's international career did not end there, as the centre was a starring player in the England Saxons team who won the Churchill Cup in 2008 and 2010.

Devon-born Sam Simmonds started his rugby career at the age of 14, playing for his county before joining the Exeter Chiefs Academy setup.

He made his first senior debut for the Chiefs in 2012 before joining Plymouth and Cornish Pirates where he gained invaluable experience.

He returned to the Chiefs in fine form and has featured heavily ever since playing a pivotal role in the club’s Gallagher Premiership wins in 2017 and 2020. His dynamic play earned him his first England cap in 2017 in a 21-8 win over Argentina and three games later he scored a brace against Italy in the 2018 Six Nations championship.

His prolific finishing for club and country also earned him a spot on the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021. Steve Borthwick named Simmonds in his 36-player squad for the 2023 Guinness Six Nations.

Breaking out onto the Premiership scene for the 2006/07 season, Nick Abendanon lit up the English top division with exhilarating performances for Bath. Flying in for scores from fullback or along the wing, Abendanon scored 10 tries in his inaugural season at the Rec. This prompted the conversation for Abendanon's England call-up, as he was fast-tracked into Brian Ashton's wider training squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

However, Abendanon was unable to secure an initial spot for France, missing out to the favoured Josh Lewsey. However, a late injury to Lewsey saw Abendanon called in for the last training week, ahead of the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final. Unfortunatly, the Dutch-born flyer was not included for the match-day squad, as England suffered a 15-6 defeat to the Springboks.

Consistent form within the England Saxons put Abendanon amongst the conversation for inclusion at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. However, despite the public opinion calling for Abendanon's inclusion, the talented winger was again left out of the squad, with Martin Johnson having the decisive call this time around. Delon Armitage, Chris Ashton, Matt Banahan, Mark Cueto and Ben Foden were all preferred over Abendanon, who missed out on the trip to New Zealand.

Abendanon would not wait to be let down a third time, as he called time on his England career following a move away from the Premiership. The fullback left Bath after over 200 caps in 2014, setting his sights on ventures in France, agreeing a deal with Clermont Auvergne.

Abendanon progressed into the world's best back-three players, and won the 2015 Champions Cup Player of the Year Award. However, as Abendanon was stationed overseas, he ruled himself out of contention for the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups.

Considered in the early 2010's as one of the best back-rowers in the world, it was surprising to see Steffon Armitage miss out on the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup. At the time, Armitage was ineligible to represent his country, as the flanker played in France with Toulon. Had the back-rower stayed for an extra year with London Irish, he would have more than likely made an appearance at the 2011 competition.

Yet Armitage decided to make the move to France, and moved to the South of France after making 136 appearances for the Exiles. Armitage has remained in France for the rest of his career, elapsing 150 caps with Toulon, before moving in 2016 to Pau, and on to Biarritz and currently Stade Nicois. Armitage made five caps for England whilst at London Irish, making his debut in the 2009 Six Nations victory over Italy. Coming off the bench for Lewis Moody, there were high hopes for Armitage in England's back-row but a career in France took precedence.