Hanno Dirksen: As has been mentioned many times in the past, Dirksen is a long-shot to ever play with the Eagles. He has stated that he wants to play for Wales after becomes eligible this January. Hard to blame him for that. However, he suffered a major knee injury about a year ago and has only recently began to play again with the Ospreys. He's only played in three of the Osprey's nine matches this year and only once in their two Anglo-Welsh Cup matches. He has been out of the line-up the last few matches suggesting that either he is still returning to full fitness or that he has been surpassed on the depth chart. The latter seems less likely given his pre-injury form.
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Prior to his injury it was thought that Dirksen would slide into the Wales line-up with ease but with his recovery taking so long it might not happen at the Six Nations. Wales have plenty of good wings in George North, Alex Cuthbert, Eli Walker, Hallam Amos, and Tom Prydie. Dirksen may find it hard to break into the group, especially considering that Walker and Amos are very young. That said, even if it looked like he was never going to be called into the Welsh team (he'll likely be called in at some point) if he choses to play for the U.S. it may cost him his contract.
Callum Black: The Ulster man has enjoyed a very strong season so far. He's appeared in all but one of Ulster's league matches and has started a little over half of them. He also played once in the Heineken Cup. But when it comes to playing for Ireland, he is still buried down the depth chart. In the Autumn Internationals Ireland called up seven props. Tom Court, Cian Healy, and Mike Ross are the veterans but there were also some younger players called in. If Black wants to play for Ireland he is going to need to start for Ulster or another club. That may come next year as Court is headed to England but as for this spring, it's hard to see Black getting a call in, even for the Irish Wolfhounds match against the England Saxons. Still, as we'll mention endlessly in this article, not playing for Ireland does not mean Black is ready to play for the Eagles. He would likely have leave Ulster to do so due to the rules regarding foreign players in Irish rugby.
Dave Ryan: Aside from their only win in club history, Zebre have stunk this year. Fortunately or unfortunately, Ryan hasn't really been a part of that for Zebre. He broke his elbow in the pre-season and was originally thought to be out a month but it took longer for it to heal. Plus, he also had to win his place back in the team. Now in his second year with the team he hasn't really be a factor playing in a less than half of the club's matches. You have to wonder with Zebre's continued struggles whether Ryan will keep his place going forward. He was originally called into Eagles camp in the summer of 2012 but then had to leave to accept his deal with Zebre. Part of the deal stipulated that he had to be working his way towards becoming Italy eligible. Again, you can hardly blame a guy for wanting to earn a pro contract, however, if he leaves Zebre that will leave him with few likely options. The door isn't closed on his return to the Eagles but it's not likely any time in the near future. Plus, with props like Nick Wallace and Titi Lamositele doing well, it might not be worth the effort to court Ryan (although one of the PRP clubs might find him handy).
James Hilterbrand: He made the move to Edinburgh this season from the Western Force extended playing squad. He played twice for the Force. Since moving to Edinburgh he's been on the bench a lot but has only made four substitute appearances for a total of 50 minutes. Because he is Scotland eligible he could get called in for Scotland A's match against the England Saxons next January but at this point it seems like a long-shot. It should also be said that he might not be welcome into Eagles camp even if he wanted to come back. Like Ryan he was called in during the summer of 2012 but did not show up. Ryan communicated why he didn't show up while Hilterbrand did not.
Marcel Brache: In case you missed it, Brache touched leaving behind a potential U.S. call-up to join the Western Force. He said that his rugby career is only so long and he needed to take advantage of every opportunity that was given him. Not many of us would do differently given the situation. The Western Force were given extra allowances this year to bring in players that might become Australia eligible in the future but it's unclear if Brache has one of those spots. However, it is safe to assume that as long as he is playing with the Western Force we won't be seeing him in a U.S. shirt. But if it doesn't work out for the Force he may be ready to join the Eagles.