England Squad 2026

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

It’ll be interesting to see who drops out once the rehab boys are back. I’d say the 1st 4 are fairly cut and dry:
Baxter > Iyogun
B. Curry > Fisilau
Lawrence > Atkinson
Roebuck > Murley

But who makes way for F. Smith? I’d say fullback is the oversubscribed position currently with 3 of them in there, so is it as cut and dry as one of them dropping out? Can’t see Borthwick dropping Daly’s versatility so is it Steward v Furbank? Does Arundell drop out with Daly becoming more of a full time winger? Does one of Dingwall, Ojomoh or Slade drop out with Daly going to wing and Freeman becoming more of a full time centre?

Will be interesting. From an A game perspective I’d like to see Arundell dropping out so that he can get game time for them rather than holding tackle bags.

From the perspective of who brings least to the squad, I’d say you ditch Slade. But will Borthwick drop someone on a central contract?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Really is tough to pick who drops out - especially in the centres,
Barring Slade it feels like they've all had performances that have made them look like long term options (maybe not so much Dingwall but he looked better than he has before over the autumn)
I imagine Atkinson will drop out, a victim of missing the AIs and only covering 12, but he looked so good in the summer!

 

[BPM]

I hope SB’s got a clearer idea of selection than me.

While Fra could be a big showdown I actually think our season stands or falls on how we go v Ire and, especially Sco. As Barnes rightly (!) said today big teams just don’t lose to them.

With our injuries we really have to keep Genge and Heyes as fresh and fit as possible. I wouldn’t put it past SB to either rest them at various times or pull a 20 minute substitution or something. Genge getting hurt when 50-0 up against Wales would be criminal.

Lord alone knows what he’s going to do with the back row and bench. Too many options isn’t always helpful (you don’t want to see me scratching my head at the 17 different varieties of mushrooms in Sainsbury’s) but if he’s going to persist with 6:2 he may go for a shed load of versatility in the backs. Perhaps even as far as (starting shirt number first):

Ojomoh 12 & 10
Lawrence 13 & 12
Freeman 14, 13 and arguably 15. Yes I know he wants 13.
Furbank 15 and 10

On bench a SH and then probably Daly to add even more options although l’d be tempted by the raw threat of Arundell

I feel like he has a pretty clear idea of how he wants to use the type of players we have in the back row. This selection also backs it up.

6 and 7 are covered fairly interchangeably by Curry x2, Underhill and Pepper. Earl, Pollock and Fisilau are the 8s, but are all capable of (and have experience of) covering the flanks.

Very simply, we use our flankers as very busy work horses to free up our quick and dynamic (but relatively lightweight) 8s to pick running lines that play to strengths.

The 6:2 was then picking a flanker and 8 to add fresh energy and impact with CCS also covering lock.

Beyond the immediate squad, Kenningham, Ilione and possibly Barbeary can drop in without really needing to change the tactical makeup of the back row. Barbeary is a more of a possible simply because he lacks the industry and versatility of the others.

 

[BPM]

Really is tough to pick who drops out - especially in the centres,
Barring Slade it feels like they've all had performances that have made them look like long term options (maybe not so much Dingwall but he looked better than he has before over the autumn)
I imagine Atkinson will drop out, a victim of missing the AIs and only covering 12, but he looked so good in the summer!

I wonder if Slade is most ‘at risk’ given experience is the only real argument for keeping him involved.

Yes, he’s in great form at club level, but that’s almost always been the case and it has never really transferred over to test match rugby.

He’s not getting any younger and with Freeman coming into the midfield mix and Marchant available from the summer onwards, I feel like he has the least compelling case for selection.

Atkinson may have missed the AIs but he did seem to really impress Borthwick and I think he’ll get a good chance to stake a claim.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

SB seems to really like Slade - he was a consistent starter even when playing poorly for club and country
There's more competition now, but he's also in much better form - I could see him still playing a big part up to/including the WC

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I feel like he has a pretty clear idea of how he wants to use the type of players we have in the back row. This selection also backs it up.

6 and 7 are covered fairly interchangeably by Curry x2, Underhill and Pepper. Earl, Pollock and Fisilau are the 8s, but are all capable of (and have experience of) covering the flanks.

Very simply, we use our flankers as very busy work horses to free up our quick and dynamic (but relatively lightweight) 8s to pick running lines that play to strengths.

The 6:2 was then picking a flanker and 8 to add fresh energy and impact with CCS also covering lock.

Beyond the immediate squad, Kenningham, Ilione and possibly Barbeary can drop in without really needing to change the tactical makeup of the back row. Barbeary is a more of a possible simply because he lacks the industry and versatility of the others.

Agreed. I was more wondering which individuals he’d go with.

You’ve name checked half a dozen players who are open sides or open side types - all different, all excellent but still slightly samey. At most there are 5 back row slots in a 23 and my preference would be for Fisilau or CCS to be involved somewhere for a bit of variety.

More widely I can’t help feeling that some proper power in the back row will be needed for Fra or SA.

 

[Rugbyfan564]

It’ll be interesting to see who drops out once the rehab boys are back. I’d say the 1st 4 are fairly cut and dry:
Baxter > Iyogun
B. Curry > Fisilau
Lawrence > Atkinson
Roebuck > Murley

But who makes way for F. Smith? I’d say fullback is the oversubscribed position currently with 3 of them in there, so is it as cut and dry as one of them dropping out? Can’t see Borthwick dropping Daly’s versatility so is it Steward v Furbank? Does Arundell drop out with Daly becoming more of a full time winger? Does one of Dingwall, Ojomoh or Slade drop out with Daly going to wing and Freeman becoming more of a full time centre?

Will be interesting. From an A game perspective I’d like to see Arundell dropping out so that he can get game time for them rather than holding tackle bags.

From the perspective of who brings least to the squad, I’d say you ditch Slade. But will Borthwick drop someone on a central contract?

Would surely see pressure for central contracts to become yearly to avoid the RFU effectively wasting lots of money.

What if he finds a solution to have more than 36 in the camp. Using some sort of new category or something.