Steve Borthwick will name an initial 36-man Six Nations squad on Tuesday and the England head coach finds himself spinning a lot of plates in terms of his selection planning, due to various disruptive factors.
As ever, there have been complications and setbacks. The national team will be without at least three men who would have been likely members of the starting XV; George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Sam Underhill. While Furbank, the country’s pre-eminent full-back for much of the last year, is likely to be available again during the championship after recovering from a broken arm, the other two absentees are expected to miss the entire tournament.
Underhill’s Test career has been regularly punctuated by medical setbacks and this latest one comes after he was overlooked for one of the initial tranche of 17 enhanced EPS contracts, which were awarded by Borthwick to core members of his squad.
That significant administrative development, as part of a new club-and-country PGP (Professional Game Partnership) deal, is likely to impact on Borthwick’s decision-making, as he will be inclined to favour contracted players, who he has more control over, in any 50-50 deliberations.
Next week England will relocate to Girona for a warm-weather training camp before their Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin on February 1. Borthwick and his assistants face an urgent mission to knit together a productive, revamped lineup, featuring some players at the peak of their powers, but many others striving for better form, or match sharpness. It is a major task, against the clock.
For all England’s progress in last year’s Six Nations, capped by a heart-stopping last-kick victory over Ireland, they fell away dramatically in the rest of the year, only beating an overwhelmed Japan twice in the remaining six matches. Here, I pick my 36-man squad to get England back into Six Nations contention.
Steve Borthwick is set to name his provisional 36-man squad for the Six Nations on Thursday
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is one of multiple stars who will be absent through injury
The side are hoping for a better Six Nations that last year’s, which saw them finish third
Back three
Furbank is out of action for at least the first two fixtures, which happen to be the toughest – away against Ireland and at home against France.
In his absence, Marcus Smith is likely to be redeployed at full-back, despite the stellar form of Leicester’s specialist 15, Freddie Steward, while Borthwick may be tempted to consider the soaring Tiger on the wing.
Tommy Freeman and fellow Saint Ollie Sleightholme are squad certainties and likely starters, while Tom Roebuck of Sale has valuable aerial prowess amid a crackdown on escort runners.
Bristol flier Gabriel Ibitoye is injured, sadly, so Cadan Murley is the next wing challenger, while Elliot Daly is experienced, in form and offers utility value.
My picks: Daly (69 caps), Freeman (16 caps), Murley (uncapped), Roebuck (3 caps), Sleightholme (5 caps), Steward (35 caps).
Marcus Smith is likely to be played at full-back in the initial absence of George Furbank
Midfield
These are problem positions and an overhaul is needed. The shift away from a blitz defence may alter Borthwick’s thinking in relation to his centres and count against Exeter veteran Henry Slade, who has often struggled to translate his abundant talent into supreme Test displays.
Alex Lozowski is the form 13 in the country and Paris-based Joe Marchant has been sorely missed.
Ollie Lawrence should keep his place, while there is a strong, time-saving case for pairing him with his Bath sidekick, Max Ojomoh, who is playing well and worth a try ahead of Quins pair Luke Northmore and Oscar Beard, and the lighter Saints stalwart, Fraser Dingwall.
My picks: Lawrence (31 caps), Lozowski (5 caps), Northmore (uncapped), Ojomoh (uncapped), Slade (69).
Henry Slade makes my squad but has struggled to thrive on the big stage with England
Alex Lozowski deserves a call-up by Borthwick – he is the 13 with the best form in the country
Luke Northmore is one of four uncapped stars who makes my provisional 36-man squad
Half-back
Here is some good news; Alex Mitchell is back and flying in time to return as the starting scrum-half, after being absent from the November series. The only question at nine is who should deputise?
Ben Spencer could miss out after starting the autumn as first choice, given the return of Sale’s electric Raffi Quirke, who has proved more effective at Test level than the sparky but diminutive Harry Randall of Bristol. Jack van Poortvliet started England’s last two Tests and should make the squad too.
All three contracted fly-halves are set to be included, with Fin Smith at 10, Marcus Smith at full-back and George Ford close to recovery from injury and closing on 100 caps.
My picks: Ford (98 caps), Mitchell (18 caps), Quirke (2 caps), F Smith (6 caps), M Smith (39 caps), Van Poortvliet (16 caps).
Alex Mitchell’s is back from his next injury and is set to be England’s first-choice scrum-half
Front row
It is a desperate pity that Gloucester’s massive England Under 20 prop, Afolabi Fasogbon, is injured, because he had done enough to justify a call-up. His fellow junior World Cup-winner, Asher ‘Ash Beast’ Opoku-Fordjour, could be included primarily as a tighthead, while Leicester’s Joe Heyes is also pushing for a return, ahead of Trevor Davison.
Ellis Genge is the pre-eminent loosehead, while Fin Baxter needs time to regroup after being targeted in the scrum this season, so Bevan Rodd could come in.
At hooker, captain Jamie George is being strongly pressurised by Saracens team-mate Theo Dan and Sale’s revitalised Lion, Luke Cowan-Dickie, who has a mighty force in defence.
My picks: Cowan-Dickie (44 caps), Dan (16 caps), Genge (66 caps), George (97 caps), Heyes (7 caps), Opoku-Fordjour (1 cap), Rodd (5 caps), Stuart (45 caps).
Captain Jamie George is facing competition at hooker from Theo Dan and Luke Cowan-Dickie
Second row
This is arguably the area of least intrigue. Maro Itoje is a nailed-on fixture and George Martin has the forbidding physical presence and hard edge to act as an ideal partner in the engine room.
The choice of under-studies is more complex, but partly because there are not many new contenders making a powerful case – not while Junior Kpoku is off-limits at Racing 92, anyway.
Charlie Ewels and Alex Coles are established squad men, to different degrees, but Nick Isiekwe has done more to earn a place and can operate at six too, while Jonny Hill has provided reminders of his international class for Sale in the last month and is worth another shot.
My picks: Hill (13 caps), Isiekwe (15 caps), Itoje (88 caps), Martin (19 caps).
Maro Itoje and George Martin look nailed-on to partner up in the second row for England
Back row
England have remarkable depth here, despite the loss of Underhill. Ollie Chessum is on track to be available and that is a huge boost to Borthwick, as the Leicester man is the ideal choice at blindside.
Tom Willis is the form player in the country, so he must be included – and considered as the starting No 8 if he can shift Ben Earl, who is a squad shoo-in alongside the Curry twins Ben and Tom.
Ethan Roots has been playing better for Exeter than Chandler Cunningham-South has been for Harlequins, but the latter has a higher ‘ceiling’ and is contracted, so he could make the cut.
Alex Dombrandt could be usurped by Willis, while Henry Pollock of Northampton is a new sensation who should be fast-tracked.
My picks: Chessum (23 caps), Cunningham-South (11 caps), B Curry (6 caps), T Curry (56 caps), Earl (37 caps), Pollock (uncapped), T Willis (1 cap).
Saracens’ Tom Willis should be considered for a chance to build on his one cap at No 8
However, he would have to supercede 27-year-old Ben Earl, who is a squad shoo-in
MY ENGLAND XV to face Ireland in Dublin on February 1: M Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Slade, Sleightholme; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, George (capt), Stuart; Itoje, Martin; Chessum, Earl, T Curry.
Last Word – The RFU appears hell-bent on turning itself into a laughing stock. The governing body for rugby in England is not behaving in the best interests of the game here.
Events on Thursday evening confirmed as much, as the union sought to split hairs and find spurious grounds for rejecting a letter from more than 150 clubs, calling for a special general meeting and a vote of no-confidence in chief executive, Bill Sweeney.
Instead of stepping up to face the music, the RFU are scrambling for loopholes and technicalities and fine-print stalling tactics. It is utterly unbecoming of an institution of such standing. It is embarrassing for the sport in this country. Stop dodging and front up.
The day of reckoning is coming, so stop hiding and walk towards it. Whether or not it leads to root-and-branch upheaval is not the point; the point is that a vast section of the English game is calling for genuine accountability and a true inquest, so it must happen. Enough of the petty nonsense.
The union are supposed to represent the sport and the sport is in up-roar over executive pay and mismanagement, so address it and deal with it, for better or worse. This ugly period of in-fighting is highly damaging and must end, properly.
