England's depth chart after summer tour triumph

Telegraph

7 days ago

England concluded their summer tour with a convincing victory over the United States after a number of players pressed their Test-match claims against Argentina.
With some of Steve Borthwick's big hitters in Australia with the British and Irish Lions, Telegraph Sport analyses how much strength in depth he has in each position on the field.
Each player has been designated as stock rising, stock falling or stock neutral following this summer's matches.
Loosehead
A position which has gone from an area of slight concern - recall Joe Marler being dragged out of international retirement - to an area of genuine, world-class strength for England. Ellis Genge is the starting British and Irish Lions loosehead, having finessed his technique alongside his natural strength and aggression, while Fin Baxter was England's (unofficial) player of the series in Argentina, displaying elements of his game in the loose which had seldom been seen previously, to go alongside fearsome scrummaging. Bevan Rodd looked good off the bench in July, too, while it is a true feather in Asher Opoku-Fordjour's cap that he is able to cover both sides. Emmanuel Iyogun was unfortunate that injury thwarted his chances on tour.
Hooker
After the three July Tests, hooker looks to be the weakest area of England's front row. There are still decent options - two of them are currently on the Lions tour - but beneath Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie there is a real chance for someone to stake a claim. Theo Dan carried powerfully in the second Test in Argentina but his line-out throwing was concerning; Curtis Langdon is effervescent in the loose but there were errors in the victory in San Juan; Gabriel Oghre was a late call-up and looked sprightly off the bench in Washington DC, but he is fifth choice. Could Kepu Tuipulotu be the coming man? With George and Cowan-Dickie not getting any younger, England might need him to push on sooner rather than later.
Tighthead
England's No 3 shirt is most interesting owing to potential movers and shakers. Will Stuart was one of England's players of the Six Nations and looked to be the favourite to start in the Lions' Test series. However, the Bath tighthead, for whatever reason, has not quite hit the heights from earlier in the year and has seen Tadhg Furlong pilfer the starting Lions jersey. Concurrently, Joe Heyes was monumental in England's two Tests in Argentina, and may now be at the same level as Stuart in the race for the starting tighthead spot in the autumn. If Stuart does not hit the ground running with Bath at the start of the Premiership season, and Heyes does with Leicester, it would not be much of a surprise to see the Tiger start.
Opoku-Fordjour brought impetus off the bench in the July series while Trevor Davison was never really given much of a shot; but England's scrum will shortly not lack for the presence of the Northampton Saint. Afolabi Fasogbon's time will come.
Lock
England's biggest worry in the pack, which might sound alarmist given that two of their trio of first-choice locks - Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum and George Martin - are with the Lions, with one captaining. But beneath them the options are bleak. It is no coincidence, especially given Steve Borthwick's penchant for versatility, that Chandler Cunningham-South - and, to a lesser extent, Ted Hill - have been used as lock cover off the bench in Tests this year.
Alex Coles was in the form of his life for Northampton during their European charge but has never been able to replicate that on the Test stage. Charlie Ewels, to his credit, proved some of the doubters wrong, catching the eye in Argentina, but he is not a long-term answer. Arthur Clark might be, and he looked like he could step up to international rugby in England's victory in the US - and it is understood he had impressed in training in Argentina - while poor old Nick Isiekwe was one of only two players, alongside Fasogbon, who did not feature in any of the three July Tests.
Flanker
If lock is Borthwick's problem child, flanker is the opposite, where England possess an embarrassment of riches. With Tom Curry and Henry Pollock on the Lions tour alongside Ben Earl and Chessum, England were still able to select a back row of Ben Curry, Sam Underhill and Tom Willis in Argentina. Cunningham-South was England's best player against the Eagles last Saturday while Guy Pepper was England's best off the bench against Argentina a week earlier in San Juan. Pepper also looked pretty handy in Washington DC.
Where Borthwick goes from here regarding selection is anyone's guess, although after the second Test against Argentina the head coach did suggest that going forward he would try to cram as many of these fabulous flankers into his matchday 23 as he could. Ted Hill only featured once on tour, and it was off the bench against the US; a fine player but the Bath flanker is clearly not fancied currently, among a cohort of excellence.
No 8
England do not bat too deep in terms of out-and-out No 8s, but the options they do have are admirable. Earl must have pushed Jack Conan all the way for the Lions' starting berth while Tom Willis was titanic for England in the two Tests against Argentina. Willis would not have been far off Baxter for the unofficial player-of-the-series gong. Alex Dombrandt is not a bad third choice, and his versatility in switching to centre means he may well be a mainstay of England's bench going forward. There is also Pollock, Cunningham-South and the Curry twins who could cover in case of emergency.
Scrum-half
Alex Mitchell is undoubtedly first choice and one would assume that Jack van Poortvliet will continue to take the bench spot, as he did once he was fit in the Six Nations, despite Ben Spencer starting over the Leicester scrum-half in Argentina. Regarding Spencer, it was pleasing to see him given a shot in England's July Tests; in the second, in particular, he excelled. Harry Randall offers a point of difference - a livewire running threat - but currently sits behind the other three, while Raffi Quirke has sadly slipped down the pecking order after bursting onto the scene to great success in 2021. Given Quirke is only 23, he still has plenty of time.
Fly-half
Borthwick may well be wishing for a few niggles heading into the autumn to make his selection slightly more straightforward. If all are fit and firing, and if Owen Farrell decides to return to the England fold, then it would appear to be a shoot-out between Fin Smith and George Ford for the starting No 10 jersey as things stand. Ford is the incumbent, but Fin Smith has been with the Lions and also directed England's attack astutely in the Six Nations.
Farrell will have to prove himself with Saracens, and that is as long as he wants to return. Marcus Smith has not featured too much for the Lions at fly-half but in his last 25 caps for either England or the touring side only nine have been starting at No 10. Do England have better options as bona fide fly-halves? Perhaps. And, perhaps, Marcus Smith's international future will be as impact replacement covering 10 and 15. Charlie Atkinson came off the bench for England in Washington DC but it was telling that for the two Argentina Tests, Henry Slade and Ben Spencer respectively were fly-half cover. Charlie Atkinson still has a lot of ground to make up.
Centre
Henry Slade was at the epicentre of England's defensive press in the first Test against Argentina but offered little in attack and, while cruel, his hand injury might well have been a blessing in disguise for Borthwick, forcing the head coach into blooding previously uncapped centres in the second Test and against the US. Slade will be 34 by the time of the next World Cup and, in any case, missed out of selection for the 2023 edition.
Luke Northmore was solid if unspectacular in the ensuing matches, but Seb Atkinson proved that he is playing at a level which, at least, showed enough potential to be Test class. Max Ojomoh had some punchy moments at 12 in Washington, too, and times a pass as well as anyone in the English game. Oscar Beard was consigned to one sole appearance on tour, off the bench, despite selection for England's Six Nations squad. Fraser Dingwall and Ollie Lawrence, both injured for the July Tests, will both surely come back into the reckoning, with Farrell and Daly both options at 12 and 13 respectively.
Wing
Tommy Freeman might not have had his greatest day in the first Lions Test in Brisbane but he remains a magnificent wing and England's first choice. When fit and firing, one would expect Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to join Freeman in England's back three - Borthwick recently described the Exeter Chief as 'world class' - although after the long injury lay-off Feyi-Waboso has looked a touch rusty. Despite that, he remains a lethal strike-runner.
In the next bracket, Ollie Sleightholme missed the tour(s) with injury and Tom Roebuck did his Test ambitions little harm in Argentina, where he impressed in both Tests. Will Muir was solid against Los Pumas but his performances were not commanding enough to suggest he is now undroppable, but Cadan Murley brings an extra threat. Off the bench against Argentina and starting in the US, Murley looked as though he had gotten over the early nerves which tarnished his Test debut, against Ireland in the first round of the Six Nations.
Full-back
Despite the greater expanse which Freddie Steward brought to his game in Argentina, and notwithstanding the strong form at No 15 which Elliot Daly has shown for the Lions, it still feels as though George Furbank is England's first choice in this position. Marcus Smith's versatility will probably see him sneak onto the bench if there are tight calls but Joe Carpenter also showed that there would be little risk in starting him in the backfield. With limited opportunities on tour, Carpenter took his form from Sale to Washington DC, where he looked sharp.