England winners and losers: ‘One-man wrecking ball’ proves a point in key positional battle
Tom Willis (left) and Harry Randall (right) in action this weekend.
Following the latest round of Premiership action, we take a look at the main winners and losers from an England perspective with the Six Nations squad announcement looming.
Winners
Tom Willis
Just has to be included in the Six Nations squad, doesn’t he? Tom Willis was a one-man wrecking ball against Bristol over the weekend and delivered possibly the finest individual performance of the season to date. The number eight nabbed himself two tries, and also chipped in with some seriously impressive efforts in the tight to boot.
Elliot Daly
It looked like prime Elliot Daly was back against Bristol, as he put on a brilliant showing to remind us all of his genuine class. He is such a silky operator when in full flight, and his link play with the likes of Fergus Burke and Alex Lozowski was a big part of his side’s win against the Bears. Wonderful to see him back to his best.
Alex Lozowski
Speaking of classy Saracens backs, Lozowksi has done his chances of inclusion in the Six Nations no harm at all with a great display. As mentioned above, his combination with Daly was really effective in getting his side on the front-foot, and he added some nice breaks in there as well. England’s midfield is certainly an area where there could be some change this Six Nations, and he could be a great inclusion based off this showing.
Fin Smith
A properly mature performance from the Northampton Saints fly-half, who was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch for the full 80. His inspired attacking performance was the key to his side’s fast start against Bath, and went toe-to-toe with the maverick Finn Russell with some delicious flourishes. Crucially, he was able to shine himself whilst getting the best out of Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall and Rory Hutchinson too, which is a really big tick in his box ahead of the Six Nations.
Tommy Freeman
Speaking of Freeman, the Northampton winger was at his electric best against Bath. He carried well through traffic and importantly came off his wing to look for work when needed – a skill Borthwick is increasingly wanting out of his wingers. His aerial ability was also on full display too, which again is something Borthwick wants from his back-three. Big performance from the winger.
Ollie Hassell-Collins
Another winger who shone this weekend was Leicester’s Ollie Hassell-Collins, who continued his purple patch against Exeter. The two-cap back notched another try – his fourth in three games – and was right at the heart of the win against the Devonians with an impressive aerial performance.
Tommy Wyatt
Another back-three player who put his hand up for selection this weekend was Exeter’s Tommy Wyatt. The versatile back was a key man in the Chiefs’ spirited fightback at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, and not just with his two tries. He was able to beat defenders with ease and proved to be a consistent threat ball-in-hand. This is also the latest in the a string of good performances from the Taunton-native, a run of form that could see him drafted into the England squad.
Orlando Bailey
A really solid performance at 15 from the Bath young gun, especially considering he is usually a fly-half. He was solid in pretty much every department in the backfield, and dealt with Northampton’s clever kicking game well. This could easily see the Bath man turn his hand at full-back more often in club colours, and could prick the ears of Borthwick with George Furbank out of contention.
Ellis Genge
A proper standout performance from the loosehead despite the loss, and one that should give him serious momentum building into the Six Nations. Genge had one of his stronger scrummaging showcases against Saracens, getting the better of Marco Riccioni on a consistent basis, and was a lot more impactful around the park than he has been in recent outings.
Losers
Harry Randall
Another below-par performance from the usually brilliant scrum-half. He was beaten in almost every department by opposite number Ivan van Zyl, which probably contributed to the clunky Bears performance. This also comes after yet more solid showings by England counterparts Ben Spencer and Alex Mitchell, and with it being so close to the Six Nations he could be moving down the pecking order as a result.
Ben Earl
Whilst he didn’t really do anything wrong, Ben Earl probably picked a bad weekend to have a quiet game given the stellar performance of clubmate Willis. Earl is the current holder of the England number eight shirt, and rightfully so after his performances across the past two years, but Willis showed all the hallmarks of a great Test back-rower last weekend and Earl could be finding himself under pressure as a result. This is also the second week in a row where he hasn’t hit his usual heights.
Injured contingent
A fair few England hopefuls unfortunately picked up knocks this weekend. Ollie Sleightholme and Raffi Quirke both pulled out of their side’s respective fixtures against Bath and Gloucester due to injury, Will Muir and Sam Underhill both picked up knocks against Saints and Jonny Hill – who has impressed since returning from suspension – came off early doors. Based on current form, all these players would have been pushing for a potential call-up into the Six Nations squad, but they now face a race against time to get back to full fitness before the Championship.
