One by one they traipsed away from England’s squad yesterday, six men whose dream had been shattered. It was like breaking up at the end of term, but for Fraser Waters, Louis Deacon, Magnus Lund, Andy Hazell, Shane Geraghty and Olly Morgan there will be no return before the World Cup in September.

The mood was understandably muted. There were sympathetic nods from colleagues and the odd word of encouragement. But nothing could compensate for the fact that Brian Ashton had decided that the six had been cut from the World Cup training squad and yesterday morning the England head coach had to tell each of them the news that they least wanted to hear.

For Ashton, a decent man, it is the part of the job he least enjoys and that is why he does not allow himself to get too close to individuals. After all, he knows what it is like to miss out on being involved on the biggest stage of all. But for personal reasons, he would have been part of Clive Woodward’s coaching team for the World Cup in Australia in 2003. As a true patriot, he celebrated England’s success, but not being there hurt.

So he knows how the players feel and how disconsolate they will be for several days. But it is likely to be the same next week as a further raft of evictions reduces the squad again. For now it is down to 40. It is the ultimate reality show. Ashton and his coaches will vote more out next week until the final call is made about his 30-strong squad on August 14, before the last of England’s three warm-up matches against France four days later. For the younger ones, such as Geraghty and Morgan, their time will come again, but for Waters and Hazell this is the end of the road.

“It has been a very difficult decision to let the six players go,” Ashton said. “They have all worked hard in training and it has been good working with them. I have taken the decision to reduce the squad now because I have had a good look at everybody in the training camp and it is important that we spend more time giving consideration to those who will make the 22 for Wales, the first of our warm-up games.

“I am considering a further cut at the end of next week’s training, but at this stage I am not going to comment on who or how many as I haven’t made those decisions yet.”

The departure of the six should not be seen as a surprise. England have several options at full back, but with Morgan’s exit and Ashton’s reluctance to countenance a nonspecialist in that position, Danny Cipriani’s chances of being the No 15 in the World Cup in September have been bolstered considerably. Cipriani, whose skills Ashton admires from his days running the national academy, will not be 20 until after the World Cup.

Waters, a key component in London Wasps’ fabled rush defence, was struggling once Mike Tindall, another of Ashton’s favoured sons, rejoined the squad on Thursday. Geraghty, for all his promise, was way down the fly-half pecking order.

Perhaps Lund can feel hard done by but such are the back-row riches, virtually the preserve of Wasps, that he and Hazell were unlikely to stay. In the second row, Deacon’s stock has fallen during the training camps and with Tom Palmer, Ben Kay, Simon Shaw, Steve Borthwick and Martin Corry vying for contention, the Leicester man was always an outsider.

Officials from the Sanzar unions have pledged never again to field weakened teams during the Tri-Nations and Super 14 series. After a crisis meeting with angry broadcasters in Christchurch before today’s penultimate international of the series between New Zealand and South Africa, who will both field weakened teams, John O’Neill, the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union, said: “It is fair to say it will never happen again.”

Revised squad

Backs: N Abendanon (Bath), O Barkley (Bath), M Catt (London Irish), D Cipriani (London Wasps), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), A Farrell (Saracens), T Flood (Newcastle Falcons), A Gomarsall (Harlequins), D Hipkiss (Leicester), C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), J Lewsey (London Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle Falcons), S Perry (Bristol), P Richards (London Irish), J Robinson (Sale Sharks), P Sackey (London Wasps), D Strettle (Harlequins), M Tait (Newcastle Falcons), M Tindall (Gloucester), J Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons).

Forwards: S Borthwick (Bath), G Chuter (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester), L Dallaglio (London Wasps), N Easter (Harlequins), P Freshwater (Perpignan), J Haskell (London Wasps), B Kay (Leicester), L Mears (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), T Palmer (London Wasps), T Rees (London Wasps), M Regan (Bristol), S Shaw (London Wasps), A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), M Stevens (Bath), P Vickery (London Wasps), D Ward-Smith (Bristol), J Worsley (London Wasps), K Yates (Saracens).