Following the announcement of Steve Borthwick’s 36-man squad for the Autumn Nations Series, Planet Rugby picks out the winners and losers.
The England boss has largely kept the squad from the Japan and New Zealand squad together but has also rewarded some players for their good domestic form so far in the Premiership.
There are, as always, plenty of talking points from the selections for the games against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan; but here are our winners and losers from the squad selection.
Winners
Jack van Poortvliet
The Leicester scrum-half has had a hard time of it with injuries recently but has hit the ground running this season. The 23-year-old was in the incumbent nine before the World Cup, and with Alex Mitchell now out of the picture through injury, it gives him a decent chance to retake that spot.
His style is slightly different to Mitchell’s, but his eye for a gap around the ruck will be a good weapon in England’s arsenal this Autumn if he starts.
Luke Cowan-Dickie
Another player who has had his injury issues is Luke Cowan-Dickie, but he too has been in great form this season for Sale Sharks. The former Exeter man looks back to his best form in the North West now and already has three tries to his name in his four Premiership outings.
Cowan-Dickie is such an explosive, dynamic hooker around the pitch, but combines this well with solid set-piece too. He has a huge battle to overtake skipper Jamie George, but he has done it in the past and there’s no reason he can’t do it again.
Trevor Davison
Finally, the Northampton Saints prop has had his Premiership form rewarded. Tighthead Trevor Davison was arguably one of the best props in the league last year as the Saints clinched the title, and his power in the tight was a big part of that. He was a harsh omission from the mid-year squad.
Tighthead is a real problem area for England at the moment, but if Davison can replicate his form on the club stage to the Test arena, he could make it his own.
Returning Saracens backs
Experienced head Elliot Daly and the ever-classy Alex Lozowski are back in the England picture following respective spells away but could be huge assets to the side.
They both seem very comfortable playing in the new-look Saracens attack, and it seems to have brought the best out of them. Lozowski, in particular, is really benefitting from the new approach as he is able to use his ball-playing skills to good effect to send his wingers through gaps. Daly is also playing in a way we’ve not seen him play for a while and is looking very dangerous in the back field.
Both players also offer some versatility across the backline, and they can also kick for poles if called upon; which are two big ticks in their box.
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Charlie Ewels
Bath lock Charlie Ewels’ hasn’t had the best of times in an England jersey of late, but he is such a solid operator around the park and will only benefit the team this Autumn.
He is arguably one of the best lineout operators in the Premiership and will add a layer of calmness to this when called upon. He is also a proper workhorse around the pitch, which is certainly a reason for his call-up to the squad.
Injury club
Henry Slade, Curry’s Ben and Tom, Alex Dombrandt and even George Ford to an extent have all timed their respective injury returns perfectly to earn a spot in the England side.
Slade hasn’t featured at all in the Premiership this season, so could be a tad rusty if selected to start, but he proved in New Zealand that he is vital to the success of the defence, and despite Joe El-Abd now running the show in that part of the game, you would imagine he will be key again.
Elsewhere, the Curry twins have had their issues with injury in the early stages of the season, but they are players you know will do a job at Test level no matter what. Alex Dombrandt is also a quality player in his own right, and his inclusion points to him being in Steve Borthwick’s long-term plans given his limited minutes this season.
George Ford is also in the mix, as he has been brought in for rehabilitation, but that also points to a potential return to fitness at some point in November, which would be huge.
Losers
Gabriel Ibitoye
The man of the moment at Ashton Gate is a massive omission from this England squad. Ibitoye is such an exciting player with ball-in-hand and possesses genuine X-factor, shown in his brilliant nine-minute hat-trick against Exeter.
He faces stern competition from other wingers across the league, including potential Lions Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, as well as Tom Roebuck and Ollie Sleightholme, but his form this season warrants a call-up to the England squad.
Tom Willis
What more can Tom Willis do to make the England squad? His form for Saracens has been exceptional, and he looked like the bolted-on starter at number eight ahead of the squad announcement.
He currently tops the Premiership for carries, defenders beaten and gainline carries, which are all skills needed to be a successful Test eight, but also blends this with solid defence too. Willis has been head and shoulders the best eight in the Premiership this season, and the more you think about his omission the more confusing it gets.
Oscar Beard
Harlequins ace Oscar Beard has been around the England squad for a while now, however, he yet again misses out on the main group.
Beard is a versatile player, which you thought would make him a good shout to win a cal-up given Borthwick’s love of versatility. He has excelled on the wing this season, but he has also done a decent job in the centres too. There’s no doubt his time will come, but he’s unlucky to miss out this time around.
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Back-row watch
The back-row is an ULTRA competitive area for England at the moment, and there are plenty of big names who miss out on selection. Bath duo Guy Pepper and Ted Hill have both made exceptional starts to the season, as have Harlequins duo Jack Kenningham and Will Evans. Elsewhere, Ethan Roots can feel hard done by to be axed from the squad altogether after featuring in both the Six Nations and summer tour. Zach Mercer’s absence from the squad continues, which only strengthens talk around a possible return to France, and Tom Pearson is also unlucky to miss out. Greg Fisilau also misses out despite being included for last month’s mini-camp.
This probably highlights the riches England have at their disposal in the back-row, however, they can all feel fairly aggrieved following their starts to the season.
Jack Walker
The Harlequins hooker hasn’t had a full crack of the whip at Test level, but he could easily have been called in for November. Walker hasn’t featured for his country at all since the World Cup pool stages, but yet has been a standout for Quins in that period.
He is also in good form this season, with two tries to his name over his four outings; but with skipper Jamie Goerge locked in to start there are only really two slots available at hooker.
Beno Obano
Bath man Beno Obano can certainly feel his form warranted a call-up this Autumn, but yet again he misses out. Obano hasn’t been given the chance he deserves at Test level, with only four caps to his name, but he has been a staple of a dominant Bath scrum this season.
He is also a powerful operator around the park and would have added another big carrier to the mix. Like Walker though, he is possibly the next cab in the ranks behind those named in the squad.
Young tightheads
As mentioned earlier, tighthead is a problem area for England, but Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Afolabi Fasogbon look like the answers moving forward.
Both men have excelled in the early stages of the season, and have certainly punched well above their weight in the Premiership so far. It would have been a big call to bring them in, but even if it was a development move it would have been a hugely beneficial experience for both players to have in their early careers.
Injured stars
Alex Coles, Joe Cokanasiga, Fraser Dingwall, Alex Mitchell, Will Muir, Max Ojomoh, Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd were all ‘not considered for selection’, however, that in itself shows they would likely have been included if fit. Coles and Dingwall, in particular, were part of last month’s mini-camp squad and were more than likely going to feature in the 23 this November.
Fergus Burke to Scotland
New Saracens fly-half Fergus Burke has gripped plenty of people’s attention since arriving in the Premiership, as he qualifies for both England and Scotland as well as his native New Zealand; but him not being included in this squad all-but confirms he will be in Scotland’s squad for the Autumn Nations Series now.
Burke is understood to be attracting the interest of Gregor Townsend and could be a nice option alongside Finn Russell in Scotland’s ranks at 10. Could this come back to haunt England like Cam Redpath?
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