Israel Folau will remain the subject of speculation until he signs a new ARU contract © Getty Images

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Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is worried not so much about the talent he knows is leaving Australia after the Rugby World Cup but more the illustrious list of players yet to confirm their intentions.

The likes of Adam Ashley-Cooper, Nick Cummins, Wycliff Palu, Sekope Kepu, Nic White and 2011 Rugby World Cup captain James Horwill will be missed, but Cheika is still facing the possibility of losing another entire Wallabies XV capable of challenging for the Webb Ellis Cup. Cheika could do much worse than selecting the following line-up for Australia's pool opener against Fiji in Cardiff on September 23: Bernard Foley; Lachie Turner, Israel Folau, Kurtley Beale, Luke Morahan; Quade Cooper, Will Genia; Ben McCalman, David Pocock, Dave Dennis; Rob Simmons, Sam Wykes; James Slipper, James Hanson and Ben Alexander. He could also throw the likes of Liam Gill and Matt Hodgson on the bench.

Those capped players are in Cheika's 51-man group assembled in Brisbane this week for a World Cup "workshop", but none have committed to the Australian Rugby Union or Australian Super Rugby franchises beyond 2015. With several other potential Wallabies also coming off contract this year, the future for about Aus$10 million is in flux.

Some will stick around - and the ARU is in advanced negotiations with "a few", and one-time Wallabies captain Pocock is believed keen to stay but needing to prove he's clear of his serious knee injury woes. But others will inevitably take big-money offers offshore.

The reality is, even with high hopes for added revenue from a lucrative new broadcasting deal, the ARU will be hard pressed to retain all of its genuine Wallabies superstars.

More than 20 of the country's elite players, headed by Folau, Beale, Cooper, Genia and Slipper, are in the sights of cashed-up clubs in Europe and Japan. Folau, Beale and Cooper are also being courted by NRL outfits eager for their x-factor services.

Cheika is, nevertheless, positive about the future, confident he can coax many of his Wallabies aces into staying - particularly those to whom he's close at New South Wales Waratahs; he also has faith in the two dozen or so capped players who have already re-committed to Australian rugby.

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper heads the list of players going nowhere soon, alongside established Test players including Stephen Moore, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Scott Fardy. James O'Connor, Matt Toomua, Christian Lealiifano, Tevita Kuridrani, Rob Horne, Nick Phipps, Sean McMahon, Will Skelton and Sam Carter are also contracted beyond this year.

"I don't think we're looking too bad," Cheika said. "Some players are going, some players are staying, some players are coming through. There's obviously a whole new cycle to plan for heading into the next World Cup, and that's what we'll start doing as soon as this World Cup's over."

Cheika is a master at selling his vision.

He pulled off the coup of the decade to nab code-hopping Folau from under the noses of NRL heavyweights Parramatta, and he also lured Crusaders assistant coach Daryl Gibson to the Waratahs in 2013.

Along with the ARU's contracting manager Andrew James, Cheika is highly involved in discussions with those Wallabies yet to re-sign.

"I believe that a lot of the guys want to hang around," Cheika said. "Sometimes it's the devil in the detail, getting stuff done.

"The negotiations have been taking place between the players' management and the contract manager here [at the ARU] and I'm sure that they'll get the right result when the time comes."

Cheika refuses to impose deadlines but he is confident that contract speculation won't be a distraction in the countdown to the World Cup.

"I don't think any player's going to be waiting, whether they're staying or going," Cheika said. "They're going to be making their decisions before the World Cup for sure. As long as everyone's clear on where they stand ... because that clarity around what their position is at any given time allows them to play well now."

Still, the threat of a large number of players taking the big money overseas is forcing the ARU to consider a more flexible contract system. And the threat of losing the like of Folau, the marketing jewel in the Australian rugby crown, may yet hasten a change of the ARU policy in which a player must be playing Super Rugby to be eligible for Wallabies selection.

Wallabies-eligible players staying in Australia post World Cup: Michael Hooper, Rob Horne, Nick Phipps, Benn Robinson, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Will Skelton, Paddy Ryan, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane, Christian Leali'ifano, Tevita Kuridrani, Henry Speight, Josh Mann-Rea, Jesse Mogg, Karmichael Hunt, James O'Connor, Anthony Fainga'a, Saia Fainga'a, Ben Daley, Chris Alcock, Nathan Charles, Pek Cowan, Tetera Faulkner, Kyle Godwin, Scott Sio, Stephen Moore, Sam Carter, Scott Fardy, Jarrad Butler, Ita Vaea, Luke Jones, Tom English, Sean McMahon.

Wallabies-eligible players leaving Australia post World Cup: Adam Ashley-Cooper (France), Peter Betham (England), Brendan McKibbon (Scotland), Sekope Kepu (France), Wycliff Palu (Japan), James Horwill (England), Nick Cummins (Japan), Nic White (France), Scott Higginbotham (Japan) Paul Alo-Emile (France)

Wallabies-eligible players undecided/ off-contract post World Cup: Israel Folau, Kurtley Beale, Bernard Foley, Jono Lance, Matt Carraro, Dave Dennis, Stephen Hoiles, Mitch Chapman, Tolu Latu, Luke Morahan, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Rob Simmons, Ben McCalman, Matt Hodgson, Sam Wykes, Robbie Coleman, David Pocock, Ben Alexander, Lachie Turner, Liam Gill, Beau Robinson, James Slipper, Fotu Auelua, James Hanson.