England latest: Winners and losers as Test hopefuls show they can ‘fit the bill’ in ‘light’ position but ‘cruel’ injuries rob ‘red-hot’ pair
Henry Slade (left) and Billy Searle (right) feature in our England winners and losers from this weekend's PREM action.
Following the conclusion of the latest round of the PREM Rugby season, here is our look at the winners and losers from an England perspective as Steve Borthwick’s squad selection nears.
Winners
East Midlands full-backs
Saturday’s East Midlands derby saw a whole host of England head-to-heads, but Freddie Steward and George Furbank potentially brought the best out of one another with two top-notch displays.
Leicester man Steward has again found himself out in the cold from an England point of view, with Elliot Daly taking the 15 shirt for the final two Six Nations Tests, but he was at his very best against Northampton. His attacking improvements over the past year have made him a really strong option in the Tigers’ system, and that again came to the fore on Saturday with some lovely moments ball-in-hand, and that was backed up with some typically strong stuff in the air too.
Furbank has also had to do it tough with England after missing all five Six Nations Tests despite being back fit, but his display against Leicester would have done his case no harm at all. Despite his side’s struggles at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Furbank offered his standard threat as an extra playmaker but also added some lovely touches in the carry too and ended as his side’s chief metre-maker.
England’s full-back shirt will likely be worn by one of these two in the summer, but after Saturday, it’ll be tough to split them.
Leicester wing duo
Around this time last year, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Adam Radwan were arguably the form English wingers. And it seems, at least on Saturday’s evidence, they are getting back to their absolute best.
Both men were simply electric against Northampton on Saturday, getting the better of Test positional rivals Tommy Freeman and George Hendy in the process, and could again be banging on Borthwick’s door.
Alongside their customary work ball-in-hand, they just seem to have developed a really nice synergy with one another and often end up swapping wings or working in tandem to not only drive their attack forward but also allow them to show their own skills. It’s quite beautiful at times, and it’s something Borthwick might want to tap into.
Tighthead pair
England are looking a touch light at tighthead ahead of the summer tour, with Will Stuart and Trevor Davison both injured, but Afo Fasogbon and Josh Iosefa-Scott have put themselves in the shop window with two marauding displays.
Joe Heyes is still very much available, and went pretty well himself this weekend too, but England A duo Fasogbon and Iosefa-Scott looked to fit the bill of what England want from their tightheads moving forward.
Both men seemed to really dominate their respective scrum battles this weekend, against a pretty strong unit at that, but also blended it with some stellar work in the loose and particularly ball-in-hand.
Borthwick and Tom Harrison would have been delighted by what they saw from the pair this weekend.
Henry Slade
This felt like a big test for Henry Slade against a direct England rival in Ollie Lawrence, but he aced it. The experienced back was a real rock of consistency in Exeter’s thumping win over Bath, injecting some proper intent and pace into their attack with his playmaking skills while also having some lovely flashes ball-in-hand, but it was also his game management in the big moments that was key.
The Chiefs certainly didn’t have it all their own way against Bath, only really pulling away in the latter stages of the second-half, but the way Slade linked up with the likes of Stephen Varney and Harvey Skinner allowed the hosts to really put their foot on Bath’s throat in those latter stages. Exeter also very rarely take kicks for goal, but it seemed the choice to do so this weekend was led by Slade, which again helped put Bath under pressure.
Back bolters
England are certainly blessed with in-form back players, but Olly Hartley, Paul Brown-Bampoe and Orlando Bailey yet again showed they can mix it with the best in the competition and could even be in the conversation come July.
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Individually, all three men showed proper minerals that suit this England set-up. Bailey’s deft handling and ability to act as that second ball-player was crucial to Leicester’s win against Northampton, Hartley’s punch and ability to cut back against the grain worked wonders for Saracens and Brown-Bampoe again showcased his aerial prowess alongside some strong carries ball-in-hand. These flashes would have all pleased Borthwick.
All three men have been involved with England A in some capacity over the past few years, too, which shows they are not a million miles away. Do they have a shot this summer? Absolutely.
Losers
Northampton Saints contingent
This was a bad defeat for Northampton, and one that doesn’t do their England contingent any favours looking towards the summer tour.
The atmosphere and edge probably didn’t help things, but Saints just seemed really off the boil at Mattioli Woods Welford Road and that will cause some concern for the England boss.
It could very easily have just been a blip after a rest week, something Northampton have been potentially prone too in recent seasons, but either way the likes of Alex Mitchell, Hendy, Freeman, Fraser Dingwall all saw other positional rivals best them, Fin Smith also couldn’t bring his recent form to the derby and Henry Pollock struggled to have his traditionally impactful display off the bench.
By no means have they played their way out of contention, but it was by no means the barnstorming efforts we’ve come to expect.
Tom Willis
Borthwick would have been stewing watching Tom Willis do his thing for Saracens this weekend, in yet another reminder of just what England are missing.
The Bordeaux-bound number eight have been head and shoulders the best player in the PREM this season, even with Saracens’ rollercoaster campaign, but Saturday felt like another step up from him as he bossed proceedings in the tight and drove the Londoners to victory on his back.
In this form, Willis could have been a game-changer for England, but alas, he can’t be picked.
Injured stars
Red-hot pair Gabriel Oghre and Billy Searle are likely now out of the picture for the summer tour, after suffering some cruel injuries which will see them miss the rest of the season.
Both players have been in unbelievable form for their clubs this season and were certainly pushing their name up into the conversation for July selection, but they will now likely have to miss out entirely.
A real shame for both men.