Hooker

England had a frustrating afternoon on Saturday, falling to a 26-24 defeat at the death. There were some positive signs but the game was hindered by poor discipline and some silly errors. With that in mind, let's take a look at who has helped, and who has hurt, their chances this summer.

On Saturday afternoon, England and France will play an uncapped game to kick off their summer tours. This game represents an opportunity for coaches to evaluate a different set of players against good opposition without risking the usual consequences of a defeat to a big rival. It also gives more players the opportunity to put themselves in the forefront of their coach's mind for when selection decisions are made in the big games.

The Saints back row has been on the verge of England selection for a while without quite cracking the squad. Given that Curry and Earl are unavailable, his exclusion seems strange to say the least. He has been a crucial player for Northampton and has recently returned to full fitness. Pearson would bring carrying ability and all-round power that England could lack with their current forward options.

England's summer starts with an uncapped game against France which is followed by two games in Argentina. It will end in Washington DC with a test match against the USA Eagles. Previous tours of this kind have unearthed the likes of Tom Curry, Jonny May and Billy Vunipola. This shows the importance of this series for periphery players to gain the trust of Borthwick and for England to develop its depth of internationals. There will obviously be several places up for grabs with England having 13 players selected for the squad as well as two more already joining up with the Lions who might join in for the full tour. With that in mind, let's take a look at who is in the mix for each of those spots, as well as selecting a travelling squad. Borthwick has already named a training squad from the six teams who didn't make the playoffs but I'll be selecting a full squad for the entire summer.

Andy Farrell selected a strong, 38-man squad for the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia but, inevitably, some big names missed out. Below I'll go through the five players I thought were unlucky to miss out as well as taking a guess at what kept them from making it.

On Thursday the 8th of May at 2pm, Andy Farrell will announce his British and Irish Lions squad for their tour to Australia later this year in front of a crowd that will hopefully be somewhere in the region of 2,000 people. In this post I go through the biggest contenders for each position in the 37-man squad and give my choices. 

1.N.Smith 2.Dee 3.John 4.Rowlands 5.Jenkins