England team: Winners and losers as Steve Borthwick’s ‘bold’ decision to include ‘frightening trio’ could light up Six Nations
Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso celebrating, and England head coach Steve Borthwick.
Following the announcement of the England team to face Wales in the Six Nations on Saturday, here are our winners and losers from Steve Borthwick’s selections.
Winners
Henry Arundell
Despite Ollie Lawrence’s injury, there would have been a temptation to keep Tommy Freeman on the wing, but starting him at centre and the absence of Tom Roebuck has opened the door for Arundell to come in and impress. The speedster has had a fine year since returning to England and seems to have developed his basics, such as defence, high ball work and chasing game.
If the 23-year-old can take those improvements into the Test arena then his pace, strength and balance makes him a huge threat to defences. Providing the hosts can get the ball to him in space, Arundell could add to the eight tries he has already scored in 11 international appearances.
Freddie Steward
It is not necessarily a surprise to see Steward in the side but the return of George Furbank and the availability of Elliot Daly means that Borthwick has plenty of options at his disposal. The Tiger has not necessarily thrived for England over recent times, too, with the ‘escort’ law amendment actually counting against him.
Steward is a player that isn’t really of value to the Red Rose if he isn’t dominating in the air, so the 25-year-old really needs to start nailing that area of his game down if he is to remain in the squad. If not, then Furbank and others, including England A players Joe Carpenter and George Hendy, are snapping at his heels.
Fraser Dingwall
After a mixed start to his Test career, Dingwall impressed against Wales at the end of the 2025 Six Nations and then was superb in the statement triumph over the All Blacks. However, an injury opened the door for Max Ojomoh, who blew it down with a man-of-the-match display in the success over Argentina.
Many were therefore clamouring for Ojomoh to start this weekend, but Dingwall’s credit in the bank has probably helped him regain his place. Freeman’s selection at 13 has also played a part with the head coach no doubt thinking that their club connection will help the team in their first Test since November.
Guy Pepper
A player who has almost quietly slipped into that blindside shirt and made it his own. Pepper is highly rated in the English game, but the start to his Test career has not been particularly flashy. That is not to undervalue what he has done, however, with the Bath flanker doing some of the dirty jobs, which has allowed the rest of the side to thrive.
The 22-year-old has been a menace at the breakdown without necessarily getting his true reward from the referee, while he has been a useful lineout option in a back-row which effectively contains three opensides that are of shorter stature. Competition is huge for those loose forward positions, so it is telling that Pepper continues to be selected.
Jamie George
The decision to put Maro Itoje on the bench, presumably due to his recent absence as a result of the sad passing of his mother, means that George leads England into this match. The hooker was the skipper under Borthwick before he was unceremoniously dumped prior to the 2025 Six Nations after just one year in the role.
It came as a huge surprise and disappointment to the front-rower, who was replaced by Itoje, but he has shown tremendous professionalism since that setback and gets his chance to lead his nation once again.
Trevor Davison
With Will Stuart and Asher Opoku-Fordjour out, it was between Davison and young tyro Vilikesa Sela for the bench role, and Borthwick has ultimately gone with experience. Against a struggling Wales side, Saturday’s game should have been the chance to unleash the extremely talented 20-year-old, but it is the Northampton Saint who has got the nod.
Steve Borthwick
It shows the sheer strength of English rugby at the moment that despite the injuries, it is an exceptionally strong side. Borthwick, to his credit, has also made some bold calls in selecting a backline which includes Freeman, Arundell and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – a frightening trio if they get front-foot ball.
Many have pushed for Ojomoh’s selection, who would offer even more pace, power and creativity, but Dingwall is credited as being a glue player and he has the ability to knit it all together. It is the right call for us, as is the decision to go with a 6-2 bench split – having Itoje, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock in the 19, 20 and 21 shirts respectively is mouth-watering.
The only call we dispute is the decision to go with Davison over Sela. While the Northampton tighthead won’t let Borthwick down, the Bath prop is the future and the head coach has missed a great chance to get him involved.
England team: Steve Borthwick benches Maro Itoje as Tommy Freeman gets centre nod
Losers
Injured players
Lawrence was reportedly close to being fit but it seems as though the Bath centre, alongside Roebuck, Ben Curry, Fin Baxter and Fin Smith, did not make it in time for the start of the Six Nations. All would have been in contention for the 23, with Lawrence and Roebuck possible starters, which shows just how strong this England side is.
Max Ojomoh, Seb Atkinson and Henry Slade
From struggling at centre to having a plethora of options, Borthwick is now blessed to have several in-form players. Particularly in the 12 position, Dingwall, Ojomoh and Seb Atkinson were all putting their hand up, but the head coach has gone for the former with the latter two unlucky to miss out.
Slade is another interesting omission. He started against Argentina in the final match of the November series, but it has now become evident that it was only because of the injuries to Lawrence and Freeman. It suggests that while he offers a different skill set in that 13 channel – he is much more of a ball player – he is ultimately well down the pecking order if everyone is fit.
Jack van Poortvliet
Again, it’s not necessarily a surprise that the 24-year-old has been omitted, with Alex Mitchell and Ben Spencer the best two scrum-halves in England at the moment, but he has been playing some exceptional rugby for Leicester Tigers this season and is the future of that position. Spencer is now 33 and could struggle to make the Rugby World Cup but, in truth, he has shown no signs of slowing down having enjoyed another tremendous campaign for Bath.
Borthwick has been quite willing to chuck young players into Test rugby but, in Van Poortvliet’s case, he is remaining patient. Providing they stay clear of injury, you feel Mitchell and Spencer will take England through the whole Six Nations, which is unfortunate on the Leicester playmaker.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Emmanuel Iyogun and Vilikesa Sela
We’ve already touched on the injuries at tighthead but Baxter’s absence meant Bevan Rodd and Iyogun were competing for the bench loosehead role. Rodd, having been in plenty of England squads before, was the logical choice and technically the next in line, but Iyogun has been outstanding for Northampton recently and on form deserves to be involved.
While one Northampton prop doesn’t get the nod, another has been handed an opportunity thanks to Davison’s inclusion. As a result, Sela misses out. We have stated above that it was the best chance to bring him into the 23 but, considering this is an already youthful England outfit, Borthwick perhaps wants a bit more experience at prop.
Chandler Cunningham-South
Unless it is down to a late injury, Cunningham-South’s omission is certainly the biggest call up front. He was never in contention to start but, as a bench option, he is the ideal impact player. The Harlequins star has the type of profile very few back-rows in England have, given that he combines height, power and athleticism.
Cunningham-South is a brilliant carrier but also a player that offers a lineout option, something they lack in the loose forwards. That enables him to cover lock but Alex Coles, who is more of a second-row that can cover six, has been selected due to Itoje’s understandably disrupted preparation.
George Furbank and Elliot Daly
If Atkinson was the preferred option at 12 then Furbank may have got the call in order to give the Red Rose an extra playmaker alongside George Ford but, with the ball-playing Dingwall in the midfield, they don’t necessarily need him.
Daly also has a nice passing game but his big upside is his versatility. Able to play wing, centre or full-back, he had a chance to start in all three, while he is obviously the ideal bench option, but his performance against Argentina was poor and may have been a factor in Borthwick’s decision.