The Best Uncapped England Rugby XV: The nearly men

Dan Robson was snubbed by Eddie Jones yet again last week in favour of Richard Wigglesworth, leaving some fans disappointed and wondering whether the Wasps scrum-half will ever get the call to win his first full Test cap.

That got us here at RUCK thinking about some talented players never got to play for England.

So who would make England’s All-Time Uncapped XV? Here’s our selection.

He joined Gloucester in the summer of 1996 and over the following seven seasons he set standards of full-back play which have never since been consistently equalled for the club. It's not really clear why he didn't recieve full international honours, although he regularly represented England at A level. Catling still occupies a special place in the memories of all those who regularly watched Gloucester in the early years of professionalism

The former Saracens, Wasps, Perpignan and England Sevens star was never able to win a full international cap, which will be hard to believe for any fan who saw how quick he was in full flight.

Having worked his way through the England Schools and the England U19 team, he became an important member of England’s first-ever U21 Grand Slam winning squad in 2004. He was called up to the England A team in 2005 for the one-off international against France A at Bath, winning 30-20. Bell then went onto be nominated for the PRA Young Player of the Year award, but his career going forward was constantly disrupted by injury.

Boasting more than a century of Aviva Premiership appearances, the bulk of those coming during a successful spell with Wasps, former England Saxon Waldouck then moved on to Northampton Saints, London Irish and Newcastle Falcons. A host of injuries, which includes snapping his Achilles tendon, is probably the only reason he wasn't able to take his game to the next level.

Signed by Leicester from London Irish in 2012, Thompstone was voted Newcomer of the Year in the supporters’ awards after nine tries in his debut season, including a hat-trick on his league debut against Exeter Chiefs. He also ended 2012/13 as top try-scorer and an Aviva Premiership champion. In 2016/17, just a week before making his 100th starting appearance for Tigers against Sale Sharks, he was named Tigers Players’ Player of the Year. Injuries more than anything again probably prevented him from winning an England cap.

In 2006, Lamb represented England at the IRB U21 World Championship. He then debuted for the England Saxons on his 21st birthday against the USA at the 2007 Churchill Cup. Lamb was also part of the Saxons side that defeated Ireland A on 1 February 2008 and competed at the 2008 Churchill Cup, which the Saxons won. However, due to personal problems and injuries, he never really fulfilled his great potential and never won a senior England cap.

Making over 200 Premiership appearances for Bath, Leicester and Newcastle Falcons, the scrum-half has proved himself one of the top flights most consistent performers. Young received his first call up to the senior England squad by coach Eddie Jones on 8 May 2016 for a three-day training squad, but never really won close to winning a cap.

Originally playing at hooker, Vickers moved to the outside of the scrum where he established himself as a reliable force at loose-head prop with an uncanny ability to score tries. His stellar form was also enough to see him named in the English Saxons squad as they won the 2010 Churchill Cup. Despite his consistency, he was never really been in the mix for a full call-up.

Versatile forward Dave Ward joined Harlequins in 2012 from Cornish Pirates, a side he made more than 100 appearances for. It was during the 2013/14 season that Ward rose to fame with his electric form. Claiming five Man of the Match awards and becoming the pioneer of countless turnovers, he was the 2013/14 Players’ Player of the season. His efforts were rewarded by being named in Stuart Lancaster’s England squad for the 2014 tour of New Zealand, but he only played in the mid week win over the Crusaders.

The tight-head prop suffered a neck injury while playing for the Saracens Storm in November 2010 and, after receiving specialist medical advice, was left with no option but to retire. He was a premier scrummager.

The 29-year-old lock, who can also play at blindside flanker or number eight, took an unconventional route to the top and developed his craft in Australia before spending seven years at Leicester. He was desperately unlucky not to win a full cap for England during a successful period at Welford Road, where he was called up five times, that saw him become a big favourite. He's now still rucking away down at Gloucester after being part of a transfer that saw Jonny May go the other way.

The reliable lock was been forced to retire with a neck injury at the age of 33. He played all of his professional rugby for Wasps, making his first of 259 appearances in 1999 and gong on to win four Premiership titles and a Heineken Cup.

Playing at blindside flanker, he played for England U-16, U-18, Students, U-23 and England 'A'. He was not capped for England, though he did play in a non-cap international against Italy. Wells made his debut for Leicester Tigers in 1982 away against Harlequins, and he went on to play for them over 360 times, captaining the side from 1991-93. He is particularly noted for playing in a back row with England internationals Dean Richards at number eight and Neil Back at openside.

The flanker started his professional career at Newcastle Falcons in 2003 but suffered a badly broken leg at the end of his first season and was sidelined for 18 months. He could have given up there, but when Woods returned he quickly made his mark on the Falcons first team and earned a call-up to play for the England Saxons. After moving to Leicester, injury to Lewis Moody allowed Woods to make his mark at Leicester and he played in 23 games for them in his first season, culminating in a try-scoring appearance in the 2009 Heineken Cup Final.

Brother of head coach Rob, the 34-year-old No 8 played his 431st game for Exeter before retiring to work full-time on the family farm in 2013. He was named in the Premiership team of the year in his final two seasons, probably suggesting he peaked too late to get a chance at international rugby.