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Two weeks in and the casualties are mounting in the World Cup. More than half of the teams (11 in total) have been forced to replace at least one player, three more if you count players who were originally named in the 31-man squad but were forced to withdraw before the tournament even got started. The last two days have been particularly brutal, with 10 players in all dropping out due to injury suffered over the weekend.
Overall some 16 have had their visits cut short, 10 more didn’t even make it to the show. Wales have had it worst, losing six players since September 8, with Hallam Amos and Scott Williams the latest to give way. Eli Walker holds the unique distinction of being the only player named as a replacement to then be replaced – all without playing in a game!
PRE TOURNAMENT KICKOFF
| DATE | COUNTRY | REPLACED | INJURY | REPLACEMENT |
| 08/14 | Samoa | Fa’atiga Lemalu | Knee | Faifili Levave |
| 08/20 | Argentina | Matías Diaz | Heart | Juan Pablo Orlandi |
| 09/02 | Italy | Angelo Esposito | Shoulder | Simone Favaro |
| 09/03 | USA | Scott LaValla | Elbow | Matt Trouvile |
| 09/08 | Wales | Leigh Halfpenny | Knee | Eli Walker |
| 09/08 | Wales | Rhys Webb | Foot | Mike Phillips |
| 09/09 | Italy | Luca Morisi | Knee | Enrico Bacchin |
| 09/10 | Canada | Jason Marshall | Ribs | Jake Ilnicki |
| 09/11 | Samoa | Logovi’i Mulipola | Achilles | Census Johnston |
| 09/14 | Wales | Eli Walker | Hamstring | Ross Moriarty |
POST TOURNAMENT KICKOFF
| DATE | COUNTRY | REPLACED | INJURY | REPLACEMENT |
| 09/20 | France | Yoann Huget | Knee | Rémy Grosso |
| 09/20 | Italy | Andrea Masi | Achilles | Michele Visentin |
| 09/21 | Wales | Cory Allen | Hamstring | Tyler Morgan |
| 09/24 | Canada | Liam Underwood | Patella | James Pritchard |
| 09/26 | Fiji | Waisea Nayacalevu | Knee | Timoci Nagusa |
| 09/27 | South Africa | Jean de Villiers | Jaw | Jan Serfontein |
| 09/28 | Canada | Connor Braid | Jaw | Patrick Parfrey |
| 09/28 | England | Billy Vunipola | Knee | Nick Easter |
| 09/28 | Fiji | Isei Colati | Knee | Taniela Koroi |
| 09/28 | Scotland | Grant Gilchrist | Groin | Blair Cowan |
| 09/28 | Wales | Hallam Amos | Shoulder | Gareth Anscombe |
| 09/28 | Wales | Scott Williams | Knee | James Hook |
| 09/29 | Australia | Wycliff Palu | Hamstring | James Hanson |
| 09/29 | Australia | Will Skelton | Pectoral | Sam Carter |
| 09/29 | Georgia | Davit Kubriashvili | Knee | Anton Peikrishvili |
| 09/29 | Romania | Ovidiu Tonita | Thumb | Vlad Nistor |
The injuries themselves have been varied. Nine (ten if you count Liam Underwood’s patella) have gone down with knee injuries, three torn hamstrings, two achilles problems, and two bad shoulders. Jean de Villiers and Connor Braid each cracked their jaw on the weekend. Will Skelton tore a pec muscle, and Ovidiu Tonita broke his thumb.
While the majority of players called up have been like-for-like replacements, it is interesting to note some of those that aren’t. Simone Favaro, a flanker, was called up to replace winger Angelo Esposito. The same goes for Ross Moriarty taking Walker’s place for Wales. Blair Cowan was chosen to take the spot of second row Grant Gilchrist, and James Hanson – a hooker – was brought into replace no8 Wycliff Palu. Is this an admission of the respective coaches that they got their squad makeup wrong, or simply a reflection of the changing needs of the group as the tournament moves closer to the knock-out stages?
Given the effect that attrition has already had on results, it might not be a stretch to think that the key to the tournament lies in the medical room, rather than the captain’s run. Whichever team manages to keep its players on the pitch holds as much of an advantage as any tactical superiority.
