The lobby of the Pennyhill Park hotel on a Monday evening provides a neat snapshot of English rugby’s fast-changing world. First to amble into view is Noah Caluori, Saracens’s new whiz-kid who has just announced himself with five tries on his first Prem start. He nods a polite greeting and looks every inch a sporting thoroughbred that any national coach would covet.
A couple of minutes later a more familiar face appears. It feels faintly bizarre to be bumping into Joe Marler when, on your television, he is sitting in a Scottish castle with Claudia Winkleman but, hey presto, that’s the magic of showbiz right there. One minute you’re propping for England, the next you’re attempting to out-think Stephen Fry.
Goodness, doesn’t time fly? Last October the now-retired Marler was still an England squad member and Caluori was just another age-group wannabe. It is a reminder of just how rapidly the wheel turns in professional sport – and reassuring evidence that rugby is still home to players of all shapes and sizes.
It also further underlines the first prerequisite of Test rugby success: the importance of being a good selector. The challenge facing every head coach – and specifically, in this case, Steve Borthwick – is knowing the optimal moment to strip away the dead wood and to embrace the shiny and new. It is never as simple as it sounds. Clinging on to the old guard for too long is a classic error but so is blooding a group of exciting youngsters too soon.
Which brings us to Borthwick’s delicate balancing act before next month’s autumn series. The easiest thing to do, fitness permitting, would simply be to cut and paste the names of all those who toured with the British & Irish Lions and then top up the rest of the team sheet with those who went well on England’s own summer tour to Argentina and the United States.
Easy but not necessarily the optimal answer for England’s 2027 World Cup prospects. Borthwick will be finalising his squad this weekend before the opening November Test against Australia on Saturday week and the time has arrived to make one or two fundamental decisions, both for the future and for the here and now.
Take fly-half. Normally England would be running around in the Girona sunshine right now, fine-tuning their gameplan in their own time. But, because of the Rugby Football Union’s desire to shoehorn in an extra international outside the official window, Borthwick no longer has that precious luxury. It reduces the scope to experiment with certain combinations and ensures – with Fin Smith, Marcus Smith and George Ford all fit and Owen Farrell lurking in reserve – that someone is about to be seriously disappointed.
Ford was hugely influential for England in the summer and has also started this season well for Sale. The Smiths were both nudged sideways in Australia to make way for Farrell’s arrival on the Lions tour but possess talent in abundance. And Farrell’s Saracens have just put 65 points on Ford’s Sale. So does Borthwick stick or twist?
Ultimately, it all revolves around how England want to play, now and at the World Cup. Borthwick was interesting on the subject, reflecting on the increasing reality that England’s point of difference has shifted. “You can see the way the profile of the squad has changed. We would have had a big forward pack and not out-and-out speed. Now you see the strength we have in the outside backs, the playmakers at half-back, the dynamism we have in the pack.”
He has a point. Consider, for a second, the greyhounds at England’s disposal out wide. In theory Manny Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman remain the team’s first-choice wings but behind them the queue is lengthening. Tom Roebuck, Adam Radwan and Cadan Murley are also in the mix, as – now – is Caluori. Plus the lightning-quick Henry Arundell and, when fit again, Elliot Daly, Ollie Sleightholme and Will Muir. Not to mention Ollie Hassell-Collins, Paul Brown-Bampoe, Ollie Thorley, George Hendy et al.
Failing to utilise all that natural gas would be criminal. Particularly given the playmaking zest of scrum-half Alex Mitchell, the midfield threat of Ollie Lawrence and the arrival of the enlightened Lee Blackett as attack coach. Remember the one-dimensional rugby England played at the 2023 World Cup? It got them to a semi-final but this time they really do have the option of spreading their wings.
So how best to maximise their resources? With the unfortunate Seb Atkinson injured there is still a debate to be had at 12 but recalling Farrell to that role would be winding the clock back a decade. “His passing game is great but he doesn’t offer a running threat,” emphasises one of the latter’s former coaches, adamant England should only consider their erstwhile captain as a fly-half these days.
More likely, perhaps, is that England will plump for the Northampton trio of Mitchell, Smith and Fraser Dingwall with the fit-again Lawrence at outside-centre.
Assuming Feyi-Waboso and Freeman are both available that just leaves a starting full-back, with George Furbank and Joe Carpenter injured. Freddie Steward is the safer option but at some stage there is a decent case for picking Arundell at 15. Sometimes he can cut a slightly peripheral figure on the wing but give him half a yard of space and something eye-catching generally happens.
England still need to win sufficient quick ball, of course, and the non-selection of the France-bound Tom Willis has deprived them of an important gainline-breaking carrier. Then again, even when the Curry twins are unavailable, they have Henry Pollock, Ben Earl, Sam Underhill, Chandler Cunningham-South, Guy Pepper and Emeka Ilione vying for back-row supremacy. Keep an eye out for Leicester’s highly rated Ilione, a medical student, but the overarching priority should be clear. If England can collectively up the pace, they have the potential to blow anyone away.
Tug of war
Talking of Tom Willis, his decision to renounce his England squad place in exchange for a return to the French Top 14 raises a number of questions. On one level it is entirely understandable: his brother Jack has just been named the Top 14 player of the year and has shown that rugby fulfilment can exist beyond the international arena. On the other, though, what does it say about the supposedly unmatched allure of an England jersey two years out from a World Cup? Borthwick, though, believes there is an upside in the fact that an increasing number of current senior English players are opting not to sign with the mooted R360 rebel league. “I think we’ve got a group of players that are passionate about playing for England,” he said. Less so, however, if their surname is Willis.
One to watch
Hard on the heels of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, the domestic Premiership Women’s Rugby campaign kicks off this weekend. Clearly it will be hard to replicate the heady scenes that accompanied the Red Roses’ trophy-winning success but now is your chance to go and watch a world champion play at your local club. If club attendances show a massive surge, those looking to propel women’s rugby to the next level really will be thrilled.
Memory lane
It’s 50 years this month since the Wallabies embarked on a 25-match, three-month tour of Britain, Ireland and the US. First up was a 36-3 victory over Oxford University on 29 October. Test defeats to Scotland and Wales followed, before a 23-6 defeat to England at Twickenham on 3 January 1976. Australia then went to Dublin and beat Ireland 20-10 before rounding off their tour with a 24-12 victory over the US on their way home.
Still want more?
Luke McLaughlin was at Sandy Park to take in Exeter’s thrashing of Harlequins.
Leicester sealed a poignant win against Bath, with Lewis Moody present to watch his old teams.
World Cup winner Sadia Kabeya talks to Sarah Rendell about fitting in, developing a special scrum cap and that ‘wow’ Red Roses triumph at Twickenham.
And Zoe Aldcroft, England’s triumphant captain, is now focused on success in the Premiership Women’s Rugby.
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