Following the announcement of Steve Borthwick’s latest England training squad ahead of the Rugby World Cup, we delve into some of the interesting omissions.
Ollie Hassell-Collins
A consistently excellent player for London Irish who was handed his shot at the start of the Six Nations. He played the opening two matches against Scotland and Italy, but injury ruled him out of the Wales game and he was never seen again. It has therefore been a stark decline for Hassell-Collins with him not even getting into Borthwick’s wider World Cup training squad.
The 24-year-old still finished the season in pretty good form but he certainly wasn’t as prolific as earlier in the campaign, while other options in the squad, such as Jonny May, Tommy Freeman, and Anthony Watson, are better in their kick-chase and aerial game. His time will come again, but it won’t be at the global tournament in France.
Ben Spencer
Borthwick was mentioned as a notable inclusion last week, given the specific skill set he offers, but there was always a risk he would be dropped when the squad was updated. There are a plethora of scrum halves competing for those three places and the trio that have come in – Jack van Poortvliet, Ben Youngs, and Alex Mitchell – were the three that featured in the Six Nations.
We felt Spencer had the type of game, particularly with his box-kicking and decision-making at the base of the ruck, that Borthwick would like, but he evidently hasn’t impressed the head coach enough over the past seven days.
Dan Kelly
A real surprise not to see the Leicester Tigers man included in the updated squad. Kelly was earmarked prior to the Six Nations as the starting inside center, a player who a backline could be built around. If you were creating the ideal Test 12, Kelly would be in the conversation thanks to his skill set and decision-making qualities, as well as his leadership and excellence in defense.
The 22-year-old was lined up to start against Scotland in the Six Nations, but he got injured just prior to the tournament starting and was ruled out for two months. Kelly returned in late March and was a key player for Leicester at the end of the campaign, but Borthwick has evidently had a change of heart over the youngster heading into the World Cup.
James Ramm
Australian-born and raised but English-qualified and someone who should have been in the thoughts of Borthwick. It took him time to settle at Northampton Saints after joining from the Waratahs but, once he found his rhythm, the wing was outstanding. The head coach wants his wingers to be physical, aggressive, and dominant in the air, three things Ramm possesses.
The 25-year-old ended up taking home two awards at the Saints’ end-of-season bash, claiming the breakthrough Player and Players’ Player of the Season gongs. His selection would have been a wild card but, on form, can perhaps feel slightly unfortunate to miss out on the wider squad.
Harry Randall
Danny Care is the only scrum half that remains from last week with Randall joining Spencer in being ousted from the squad. The Bristol Bears livewire enjoyed a fine 2022 and started three matches in that Six Nations Championship, but he has rather slipped off the radar since.
There is no doubting his threat around the fringes and he is a fun player to watch at Premiership level, but the question has always been whether he can control a match at Test level. Borthwick has his doubts and we tend to agree. He will go back to Bristol and look to throw his hat in the ring in the next World Cup cycle.
Trevor Davison
A prop who has been in and around England squads in the past, earning a couple of caps in 2021, but he misses out here despite his versatility. Capable of playing either loosehead or tighthead, Davison is a strong scrummager while also being a workhorse in defense.
England does lack quality tightheads and the Saints man may have snuck in there but Borthwick has gone for Joe Heyes, Dan Cole, and Kyle Sinckler as the options in that position. At loosehead, Davison was never going to get in due to the sheer depth of quality the Red Rose have.
George Furbank
Another player that has just rather quietly drifted out of contention despite being a fixture in squads under Eddie Jones. He has earned six caps in total and started England’s Six Nations defeat to France in 2022, but has not featured for the national team since.
Furbank is a talented playmaker and has the ability to play either fly-half or full-back, but the 26-year-old has yet to really prove himself in the Test arena. There are concerns over his aerial skills against the very best teams and that is something Borthwick requires from his back three.
