England EPS contracts: Five takeaways as Henry Pollock ‘hits jackpot’ while Saracens star ‘axed’
Henry Pollock celebrates after his try-scoring debut for England in Wales
Steve Borthwick confirmed his England favourites on Monday, naming the 25 who have been awarded an enhanced elite player squad contract for 2025/26.
It was last October, following the unveiling of the new Professional Men’s Game Partnership between the RFU and Premiership Rugby, when the head coach awarded 17 players a hybrid deal that, in exchange for a centralised payment, would allow the RFU to have a greater say over their S&C and injury management.
Year two of this new arrangement has now resulted in Borthwick using up all 25 available contracts as he plans for a campaign that will begin with a November 1 clash in London with Australia.
Here are the Planet Rugby takeaways following Monday’s Enhanced EPS announcement.
Pollock hits the jackpot
Not even Nostradamus could have predicted the meteoric rise enjoyed in 2025 by Test-level rookie Henry Pollock. The World Rugby Junior Championship title winner began the Six Nations window with two age-grade appearances with Mark Mapletoft’s U20s, and he finished it with a Test debut away to Wales where he struck with two tries from the bench.
That maiden senior international cameo sparked a frenzy that resulted in him giving European title favourites Leinster his pulse check some weeks later, and then Andy Farrell naming him in the British and Irish Lions squad.
The 20-year-old’s tour didn’t ignite, as he didn’t make any of the three Test teams, but his overall rapid progress up the ranks has now been rewarded by a huge pay increase courtesy of Borthwick and the RFU.
The Twickenham shop should start ordering in the black-coloured Pollock headbands… they are going to be in demand with fans in the coming international season.
Dan no longer the man
Theo Dan was the only player from the original October 2024 gang of 17 to be hit where it hurts. Having stolen a march on the back-up to Jamie George at Rugby World Cup 2023, he failed to deliver last season even though George suffered a loss of form.
With Luke Cowan-Dickie back fighting fit, Dan featured just twice off the bench across England’s nine-game Autumn Nations/Six Nations campaign.
Then, when finally given a start in the second summer tour Test away to Argentina after a rejuvenated George was excluded from the XV due to his British and Irish Lions call-up as injury cover for Cowan-Dickie, Dan endured an error-ridden appearance and was hooked early in the second half in San Juan.
His slip down the England pecking order has now resulted in the loss of his Elite EPS deal, and it will be interesting to see how the 24-year-old rebounds in the opening months of the new club season with Saracens.
Daly’s inclusion raised eyebrows
Test bolter Pollock was one of nine new additions to Borthwick’s Elite EPS list. The eight others to get the salary bump were Fin Baxter, Cowan-Dickie, Ben Curry, Elliot Daly, Joe Heyes, Tom Roebuck, Will Stuart and Tom Willis.
There would be few, if any, quibbles with most of those names, but the upgrade awarded to Daly is curious. Yes, his versatility initially buoyed the Lions in Australia before a forearm fracture ended his tour.
No return to play date has been publicly confirmed following the utility back’s latest injury setback, but he has received an early 33rd birthday present from Borthwick with his Elite EPS deal.
It’s a pay rise that will raise eyebrows looking back on his 2024/25 England season. He trained without playing during the first three match weeks last November and then stepped away from week four with an unspecified injury.
Then, in the Six Nations, there were just two starts in his four appearances. Admittedly, that selection run culminated in a good show as the starting left wing in Wales, but was that display against the Six Nations whipping boys enough to merit a salary increase for the coming season?
Separate from Daly’s promotion, one retention – Henry Slade – was quickly criticised on social media. His midfield game certainly has its limits, but at least he started in eight of England’s 10 Test games last season before injury cut short his tour of the Americas.
CCS consistency cuts no ice
Sam Underhill fans will be wondering why he wasn’t considered good enough for a hybrid deal following his summer tour renaissance, but Chandler Cunningham-South is the back-row omission with most to fume about.
It was February 2024 when he debuted at senior level away to Italy in Rome, and he has appeared in 18 of England’s last 20 Test matches. That’s quite the run of selection consistency, but it cut no ice with Borthwick when it came to divvying up the prized RFU elite deals.
It’s an odd decision given the wealth of caps collected by the 22-year-old. Yes, 11 of those appearances have been as a sub, but it looked to all intents and purposes that he was a pivotal part of the Borthwick squad.
Not so. With Tom Curry and Ben Earl retaining their 2024/25 contracts, the three new deals went to Ben Curry, Pollock and Willis.
Sale the big club winners
Alex Sanderson’s Sale were the big winners club-wise from Monday’s Borthwick announcement. Tom Curry and George Ford were their two representatives in the original England 17 named last October, but the Manchester club’s contingent has now catapulted to five with the inclusion of Cowan-Dickie, Ben Curry and Roebuck.
It’s an upgrade that will surely help them Sharks balance the books, and it puts them on level pegging with Saracens and Northampton, who also have five-strong representations.
Those three clubs taking up 15 of the available 25 elite contracts are in a position of dominance, but Borthwick has managed to keep five other Premiership clubs happy by spreading around the remaining picks.
Leicester have three contracts, Bath, Exeter and Harlequins two apiece, while Bristol account for one, Ellis Genge. That leaves Gloucester and Newcastle as the two top-flight clubs without a single player in Borthwick’s Elite EPS.
England’s Enhanced EPS Contracts List
LOOSEHEAD (2): Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
HOOKER (2): Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Jamie George (Saracens)
TIGHTHEAD (2): Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
LOCK (3): Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
BACK-ROW (5): Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Ben Earl (Saracens), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Tom Willis (Saracens)
SCRUM-HALF (1): Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
FLY-HALF (3): George Ford (Sale Sharks), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
CENTRE (2): Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
BACK THREE (5): Elliot Daly (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), George Furbank (Northampton Saints), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
