With under a year to go until the 2027 Rugby World Cup, England head coach Steve Borthwick faces a set of autumn questions that go far beyond three November Tests. Just nine competitive matches remain for the home nations before the tournament starts in Australia next October — and the resumption of the inaugural Nations Championship in November is where Borthwick’s long-term thinking will be tested first.
Steve Borthwick (Credits: BBC Sport)
Borthwick autumn questions as World Cup looms for England
Borthwick has named his 36-man training squad ahead of Tests against Australia on 8 November, Japan on 14 November, and New Zealand on 21 November. The selection gives a clear indication of his thinking on both a short- and long-term basis — and, according to former England wing Chris Ashton, it is a squad built with the World Cup in mind rather than simply picked on current form.
There are notable inclusions. Joe Marchant earns a recall, fellow centre Will Joseph is rewarded for his — and Gloucester’s — excellent start to the season, while uncapped Archie McParland comes in as the third scrum-half and uncapped Kepu Tuipulotu as the third hooker. On the whole, though, it is a tried and tested group.
“If we look at this training squad, it’s not picked on form, is it?” Ashton said on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast. “It is a squad to get to the World Cup. Will Joseph is picked on form, but the vast majority is not. It is based on the experience and relationships [Borthwick] has with the players, and that is why Marchant is in there.”
England selection dilemma: form versus experience
That tension — form versus familiarity — is the classic dilemma facing an England head coach. With ten Premiership teams to pick from, there are always players playing well. The challenge is balancing that with the selection consistency needed from campaign to campaign, especially when a World Cup is less than a year away.
Several Borthwick regulars have been short of minutes or form this season, including Fin Baxter, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jamie George, Will Stuart, George Furbank, and Ben Curry. Yet all bring priceless Test-match experience, and dropping them now would mean rebuilding combinations with very little time left.
“Part of the problem right now is that Steve feels he is under pressure to get results, so it is too late to make big changes,” Ashton added. “There just aren’t many lads that have played much rugby.” England have won three of their past eight matches, a record that sharpens the pressure on every selection call this autumn.
The uncapped pair of McParland and Tuipulotu will bring freshness to camp, but questions remain over game time. Will McParland get minutes ahead of established scrum-halves Jack van Poortvliet and Alex Mitchell? Will Tuipulotu get any opportunity competing with the highly experienced George and Cowan-Dickie? Former England wing Ugo Monye also highlighted notable omissions, noting that Sale’s Nathan Jibulu has had two man-of-the-match performances, Northampton’s George Hendy has been consistently excellent, and Bristol back rower Fitz Harding could feel hard done by on form.
England injury concerns ahead of Australia Test
Injuries are already shaping the picture. Benhard Janse van Rensburg is out — a big blow given how he was fast-tracked into the set-up — while incumbent number 12 Seb Atkinson is on the rehab list, as is Exeter flyer Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Their fitness will be monitored closely by the England medical staff.
Meanwhile, nailed-on starting fly-half Fin Smith will miss training this week with a calf niggle, although the injury is not thought to be serious. Charlie Atkinson was called up on Monday morning as cover.
In the forwards, the selection picture is reasonably clear: Ellis Genge, George, Cowan-Dickie, Joe Heyes, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Alex Coles, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, and Henry Pollock all make the 23 if fit. Behind the scrum, especially at centre, it is far more uncertain. Atkinson and Henry Slade started England’s last Test, a crucial victory over Argentina in July, and could line up together again against the Wallabies — but Marchant and Joseph are also battling for the number 13 shirt, and a possible World Cup place.
“Marchant and Will Joseph are in a bit of a shoot-out,” Monye said. That shoot-out, and others like it across the squad, is exactly what this autumn is for: answering Borthwick’s questions while there is still time to act on the answers.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
