Rugby World Cup Pool D squads: Leitch and Horie set for fourth tournament
Pool D rivals England, Argentina, Samoa, Japan and Chile have named their squads for Rugby World Cup 2023.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has been forced into making two changes to his original 33-man party following the withdrawals of Jack van Poortvliet and Anthony Watson.
The Leicester scrum-half and his former club-mate have both been ruled out of the tournament and been replaced by Alex Mitchell and Jonny May respectively.
Japan have also lost James Moore to injury, while Uwe Helu, who was a late call-up, and Shogo Nakano have been withdrawn due to poor (physical) condition.
Amato Fakatava and Kanji Shimokawa have been added to the squad, alongside Warner Dearns, Amanaki Saumaki and Pieter Labuschagne who were called up earlier in August.
Forwards Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro and Santiago Grondona have withdrawn from the Argentina squad due to injury, with Mayco Vivas and Joaquín Oviedo called up as replacements.
CHILE
In what is a tournament first, Chile’s first Rugby World Cup squad includes four sets of brothers.
Included in Los Cóndores squad are Alfonso and Diego Escobar, Matías and Nicolás Garafulic, Santiago and Benjamín Videla, and the twins Clemente and Domingo Saavedra.
Doncaster Knights flanker Martín Sigren, one of the few players to play their club rugby outside of Chile’s borders, will lead his country into uncharted waters in France.
Sigren is, however, a former player with Selknam, the Super Rugby Americas club with the vast majority of representatives in Los Cóndores’ line-up (27 out of 30).
Second-row Pablo Huete, a former Top 14 player in France with Bayonne, is set to play in a Rugby World Cup 17 years after he made his Los Cóndores debut, while scrum-half Benjamín Videla is the only member of the squad yet to win a test cap.
Forwards: Javier Carrasco, Salvador Lues, Vittorio Lastra, Matías Dittus, Iñaki Gurruchaga, Esteban Inostroza, Augusto Bohme, Tomás Dussaillant, Diego Escobar, Javier Eissmann, Pablo Huete, Santiago Pedrero, Augusto Sarmiento, Alfonso Escobar, Raimundo Martínez, Thomas Orchard, Clemente Saavedra, Martín Sigren, Ignacio Silva.
Backs: Lukas Carvallo, Nicolas Herreros, Marcelo Torrealba, Benjamín Videla, Rodrigo Fernández, Santiago Videla, Pablo Casas, Matías Garafulic, José Ignacio Larenas, Domingo Saavedra, Franco Velarde, Nicolás Garafulic, Iñaki Ayarza, Francisco Urroz.
JAPAN
Talismanic former captain Michael Leitch and hooker Shota Horie will travel to their fourth Rugby World Cup after being named in the Japan squad that will compete in France.
Loose forward Leitch, who captained Japan to the quarter-finals on home soil in 2019, and 37-year-old Horie were included in an initial 30-man party.
The suspension Leitch received for his first test career red card against Samoa in Sapporo last month won’t impact on his availability in France.
At present, Luke Thompson is the only player to have featured for Japan in four Rugby World Cups (2007-19). Centre Yukio Motoki was also part of four Rugby World Cup squads but was an unused replacement in his first tournament in 1991.
Wing/full-back Kotaro Matsushima, who scored five tries in the Brave Blossoms’ run to the last eight in 2019, will be appearing at his third tournament.
The squad also includes three players who were uncapped at the time of their inclusion, in prop Sione Halasili, scrum-half Kenta Fukuda and second-row Saumaki, while 19 of the players will be making their tournament debuts.
Saumaki and three other forwards, Dearns, Helu and Labuschagne, were late additions to the squad after Jamie Joseph named 30 players in his original announcement. At the same time, second-row James Moore has been cut from the squad.
South-African-born flanker Labuschagne will miss Japan's opening match against Chile in Toulouse on 10 September as he will still be serving a three-match ban for a dangerous tackle in Japan's 35-12 loss to Fiji on 5 August.
Labuschagne was involved in RWC 2019 but Dearns and Saumaki will be making their tournament bows in France.
Forwards: Keita Inagaki, Craig Millar, Sione Halasili, Koo Ji-won, Shinnosuke Kakinaga, Asaeli Ai Valu, Shota Horie, Atsushi Sakate, Kosuke Horikoshi, Jack Cornelsen, Warner Dearns, Amanaki Saumaki, Pieter Labuschagne, Amato Fakatava*, Shota Fukui, Kazuki Himeno, Michael Leitch, Ben Gunter, Kanji Shimokawa*.
Backs: Naoto Saito, Yutaka Nagare, Kenta Fukuda, Lee Seung-sin, Rikiya Matsuda, Jumpei Ogura, Ryoto Nakamura, Tomoki Osada, Dylan Riley, Siosaia Fifita, Semisi Masirewa, Jone Naikabula, Lomano Lemeki, Kotaro Matsushima.
SAMOA
Samoa coach Seilala Mapusua has included several players who are eligible for Samoa due to the birthright amendment, including Charlie Faumuina and Christian Leali’ifano who are both now in line to appear at a second Rugby World Cup.
Faumuina played for New Zealand at RWC 2015 while Leali’ifano was part of the Australia squad that reached the quarter-finals in Japan four years later.
Co-captains Michael Alaalatoa and Chris Vui are also returning for their second tournament, having appeared for Samoa at RWC 2019.
Forwards: Michael Alaalatoa (co-captain), Paul Alo-Emile, Charlie Faumuina, James Lay, Jordan Lay, Seilala Lam, Sama Malolo, Luteru Tolai, Brian Alainuuese, Theo McFarland, Sam Slade, Chris Vui (co-captain), Sootala Faasoo, Miracle Fai’ilagi, Fritz Lee, Steven Luatua, Alamanda Motuga, Taleni Seu, Sa Jordan Taufua.
Backs: Ere Enari, Melani Matavao, Jonathan Taumateine, Christian Leali’ifano, Lima Sopoaga, Alai D’Angelo Leuila, Tumua Manu, Duncan Paiaaua, Ulupano Junior Seuteni, Nigel Ah Wong, Ed Fidow, Neria Fomai, Benjamin Lam, Danny Toala.
ENGLAND
Dan Cole, Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs have been selected for a fourth Rugby World Cup in a squad boasting 19 forwards and 14 backs.
A further 14 players have experienced at least one previous edition of the tournament, including captain Owen Farrell who is set to appear at his third.
Farrell will be assisted by vice-captains Ellis Genge and Lawes. Dan is the least experienced player in the squad with one cap, while Henry Arundell, 20, is the youngest.
Coach Borthwick believes confirming his squad early in August will bring “clarity and certainty to the group, allowing the players as much time as possible to settle and develop as a squad”.
He added: “Rugby World Cups involve unique challenges in terms of the demands on players, the need for squad flexibility and the limited number of squad places available.
“France 2023 is no different, but I am confident we have selected a squad of 33 that is well able to meet those challenges and leave us best placed to be at our most competitive in this exciting tournament.”
Forwards: Dan Cole, Ellis Genge, Joe Marler, Bevan Rodd, Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart, Theo Dan, Jamie George, Jack Walker, Ollie Chessum, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, George Martin, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Lewis Ludlam, David Ribbans, Billy Vunipola, Jack Willis.
Backs: Danny Care, Alex Mitchell*, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Marcus Smith, Elliot Daly, Ollie Lawrence, Joe Marchant, Jonny May*, Manu Tuilagi, Henry Arundell, Max Malins, Freddie Steward.
ARGENTINA
Nicolás Sánchez and Agustín Creevy will play in their fourth Rugby World Cup after coach Michael Cheika included the experienced duo in his squad for France 2023.
Kodela, at 38 the second oldest in the squad, will play in his first Rugby World Cup in a squad that has 10 players that will play in their third tournament and seven that will appear for a second time.
The squad contains two Olympic bronze medallists in Lautaro Bazán Vélez and Rodrigo Isgro and two gold medallists from the 2018 Youth Olympic Games – Juan Martín González and Lucio Cinti.
Forwards: Francisco Gómez Kodela, Joel Sclavi, Thomas Gallo, Mayco Vivas, Eduardo Bello, Julián Montoya (captain), Agustín Creevy, Ignacio Ruiz, Matías Alemanno, Tomás Lavanini, Guido Petti, Facundo Isa, Pablo Matera, Juan Martín González, Marcos Kremer, Rodrigo Bruni, Joaquín Oviedo, Pedro Rubiolo.
Backs: Gonzalo Bertranou, Tomás Cubelli, Lautaro Bazán Vélez, Santiago Carreras, Nicolás Sánchez, Santiago Chocobares, Lucio Cinti, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Matías Moroni, Emiliano Boffelli, Mateo Carreras, Rodrigo Isgró, Juan Cruz Mallía, Martín Bogado, Juan Imhoff.
*injury replacement.