On Sunday night, Steve Borthwick announced his 36-man squad for a 3 day training camp before the Autumn internationals. There are several players that are injured and some big omissions among those that are available. Here are 3 of the biggest stories from this squad.
Full squad
LHP: Fin Baxter, Ellis Genge, Bevan Rodd
HKR: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Theo Dan, Jamie George
THP: Joe Heyes, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Will Stuart
Lock: Ollie Chessum, Alex Coles, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje
Back row: Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Earl, Emeka Ilione, Guy Pepper, Henry Pollock, Sam Underhill
Scrum-half: Alex Mitchell, Raffi Quirke, Ben Spencer
Fly-half: George Ford, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith
Centre: Fraser Dingwall, Ollie Lawrence, Max Ojomoh, Henry Slade
Wing: Henry Arundell, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, Cadan Murley, Adam Radwan, Tom Roebuck
Fullback: Freddie Steward
(Noah Caluori is with the squad for development purposes)
1. No Owen Farrell
Owen Farrell's return to the Prem inevitably ignited plenty of speculation about a potential return to the England squad. However, England already have 3 fly-halves that are of test-match quality and Owen Farrell is yet to actually start at 10 for Saracens this season. The question that would then be more relevant surrounds Farrell's place in the pecking order of English inside centres. Seb Atkinson is injured, but Ojomoh and Dingwall have been consistent performers in the league and have earned their spots in the team. The door definitely seems ajar for Owen Farrell, but he'll have to work hard to walk through it.
2. The Tom Willis replacements emerge
The news earlier this week that Tom Willis is returning to Bordeaux at the end of this season came as a real surprise. He was (and still is) on a central contract with the RFU and had been offered a contract by Saracens. There were also strong rumours of significant interest from the likes of Newcastle, which would have allowed him to remain eligible to play for his country. Instead, he chose to join his brother Jack across the channel in France, thus ending his international career for the time being.
So, who will replace him? Sam Simmonds and Zach Mercer are arguably England'd best 8's behind Willis but they are both already in France and were never great fits with the national team when they were available. Within England there are very few specialist no.8 players. Greg Fisilau and Callum Chick must both be in the mind of Steve Borthwick but neither were selected. Instead, the bulk in the back row will be brought by Chandler Cunningham-South and Emeka Ilione. Both of them have recently played at no.8 and looked good doing it. Ben Earl was the incumbent before Willis took over the position so he'll also be firmly in the mix. For now, it looks like a wide open competition that will be a big feature of the Autumn Nations series.
3. The wings are up for grabs
The most surprising thing about this squad is the sheer number of wingers that have been selected. Steve Borthwick has picked 6 to join his training squad for what looks like a very open competition. Tommy Freeman is an England regular, and one of the first names on the team-sheet, but he has made it clear that he would like to move to 13 going forward. That seems unlikely so expect to see him on the right wing. Tom Roebuck has also impressed at 14 in recent times and is clearly a Borthwick favourite. His aerial prowess is highly coveted by the England coaching staff which makes him a very valuable asset to the team. Feyi-Waboso was becoming a key player before his injury, and has looked good on his return, but he'll have to work his way back into the XV. Cadan Murley has been a consistent depth option for England over the past year. and is trusted by Borthwick. but will face stiff competition from 2 X-factor wingers. Henry Arundell has already played for Borthwick's England during the 2023 World Cup in which he scored 5 tries in one game against Chile. He is already making head-lines in Bath and is becoming a more complete player as he develops. Radwan is arguable the quickest player in the league but has always needed to work on his aerial and defensive games. He has come on leaps and bounds since joining Leicester at the start of the calendar year and now looks ready to truly take his shot at making the England squad. This will be a cracking competition to watch.
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