Wales jettisoned 218 Test caps when they dropped Mike Phillips, James Hook and Richard Hibbard from the World Cup training squad but former skipper Ryan Jones believes that trio won’t be the last high-profile casualties this summer.

Warren Gatland currently has a 38-man group meaning he will have to cut seven more players by August 31, when the World Cup will be less than three weeks away.

Scrum-half Phillips, fly-half Hook and hooker Hibbard were all dropped following Wales’ disappointing 36-21 loss to Ireland at the Millennium Stadium but Gatland’s troops will have a chance for redemption when the sides meet again in Dublin next Saturday.

That will be a final opportunity for players to impress the coaching staff ahead of the final cuts but Jones, who retired from rugby this week after persistent shoulder injuries, insists most of the decisions will already have been made.

“We're halfway through the summer series and the World Cup squads are going from 50 players down to the 31,” said Jones, who was helping to promote SSE's joint sponsorship of ITV’s coverage of Rugby World Cup 2015.

“It's an interesting time – there's going to be some casualties. We've already seen some pretty high-profile ones in Hooky, Richard Hibbard and Mike Philips.

“I don't think those will be the last either. The coaches and coaching staff have had weeks if not months to look at these players.

“Squads will have been pretty much chosen by now although there will be one or two question marks.

“Some guys will get the experience and others will be bitterly disappointed that the chance has gone but it certainly makes for interesting conversation round a pub table with your mates.”

Jones made 78 appearances for Wales – with his last coming against Tonga in 2013 – as well as going on the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour.

He won three Six Nations Grand Slams although a semi-final appearance in 2011 was as far as he got in a World Cup.

If Wales are to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time this year, they will have to emerge from the proverbial ‘group of death’ which also features England and Australia.

But Jones believes that the fourth-highest ranked team in the group, Fiji, who famously knocked Wales out of the 2007 World Cup, will play a crucial role in proceedings.

“We all know how tough Wales's group is and there is no doubt going to be one high-profile casualty from it,” added Jones, who was speaking at the ‘SSE Sounds Of Victory’ pop-up shop in London, where he helped to unveil the world’s first ever sports bottle that harnesses the hair-raising power of crowd noise.

“I actually think Fiji may have a big say in this group, maybe not by beating someone but by running someone very close.

“I think Australia are in a rich vein of form while England's set piece will be very good, coupled with the fact they're the home nation.

“That being said the core of the Wales team have exactly what it takes to get to a semi-final of a World Cup and know what it takes to win a major home nations tournament.”

“If we can keep everyone fit. They're all physically in good shape and get some rugby in to them they should hit the ground running.”

SSE is proud joint sponsor of ITV’s coverage of Rugby World Cup 2015. Visit ssereward.com #soundsofvictory