Steve Borthwick told to make ‘bold’ positional decision for star who can become ‘the Will Jordan of England’
England's Henry Arundell and, inset, Will Jordan of the All Blacks
Ex-England fly-half Stuart Barnes has called on Steve Borthwick to be bold ahead of the 2026 Six Nations and select Bath winger Henry Arundell at full-back.
The 23-year-old recently returned to the Prem after two years in the Top 14 at Racing 92.
Having made a Test debut under Eddie Jones on the 2022 tour to Australia, Arundell became unavailable to Borthwick following the 2023 Rugby World Cup as he decided to play club rugby across the Channel following the financial collapse of London Irish.
Reigning Premiership champions Bath tempted Arundell back to England last summer and he has been tearing it up with his new team. Last Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup try versus Munster was his seventh in seven starts for Johann van Graan’s side.
Arundell also ended his international exile with a try-scoring cameo off the England bench versus Fiji, but that was his sole involvement in the Autumn Nations Series and Barnes now wants head coach Borthwick to adopt a Will Jordan-like tactic with the English youngster.
“The boy made the Frenchmen look like children…”
The All Black came up through the ranks as a full-back before forcing his way into the Test side on the wing. He has since made his way back into the No.15 New Zealand shirt, the position on the field that Barnes wants Borthwick to consider Arundell for.
Fearing that the full-back position isn’t overflowing with contenders, Barnes suggested that playing Arundell in the role could be the final piece to completing the England back three and giving Borthwick’s side every chance of extending their current 11-match winning streak in a Six Nations campaign that includes trips to Scotland and France and the hosting of Ireland at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
Writing about Arundell in The Times, Barnes began his Jordan-like proposition by stating: “In his England U20 infancy, he was an out-and-out full-back. The number of length-of-field tries you can watch online is astonishing. He was a full-back when he broke through into London Irish colours.
“Against Toulon in a Challenge Cup match, in the French side’s fabulously hostile home ground, he received a pass a couple of metres from the Irish try-line and weaved his way past six defenders, using sheer speed, stepping, changes of pace and dummies to score one of the most memorable tries I have ever seen. The ball was tucked under his right arm all the way. The boy made the Frenchmen look like children.
“Months later, Eddie Jones took him on tour to Australia and with Arundell’s first touch, he blasted through two Wallaby tacklers and checked and stepped around the last line of cover. His first touch in Test rugby, his first try. But the man who gave him the pass was Freddie Steward. He remained on the field as England’s full-back; Arundell was being transformed into a wing.
“Despite Arundell’s five-try haul against Chile at the 2023 World Cup, he struggled against superior South American opposition and was substituted early in the third-place play-off game against Argentina. It has taken a return to Bath from Racing 92 for Arundell to rediscover that unique blend of pace and gear change, utilising it from the wing.
“Against Fiji, he scored with his first (and was it his only?) touch of the November internationals. That raw pace. It is a point of difference. None of the England wings are slouches but they are not in his class. However, they are loaded with plenty of other virtues: strength, speed and aerial virtuosity.”
Having sifted through Arundell’s CV, Barnes then posed the question he wants Borthwick to answer. “Should England consider him as a full-back, first and foremost? He used to pick incredible lines from full-back. There is something of the imperious Will Jordan in his game. There is something of the same background between Jordan – the deadliest finisher of his, or any, age – and the Bath back three man. Yes, let’s drop the wing/full-back differential. Back three will do.
“Jordan was a wonderful full-back at age-grade who found his way into the All Blacks team as a wing before journeying back to his favoured old position. Unlike Arundell in 2023, New Zealand converted him into a complete operator. England did not bother with attack. It was kick, kick, kick.
“Isolated on the touchline, Arundell did not know how to chase, did not know how to switch from the wide channels to his once-familiar position of full back. Of the two potential geniuses, one of them flourished, the other was frozen out of the game.
“England, with the coach Lee Blackett adding intellect to their offensive game, should be pushing the Bath wing into contention as a full-back, à la Jordan, who is now equally adept in either position.”
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Barnes then critiqued Freddie Steward and George Furbank, two of England’s recent full-back selections. “At full-back, there are only two viable options. Steward has improved in attack but is no longer invulnerable in the air and is prone to being badly positioned in defence. This may explain the numerous one-on-one missed tackles. He is brave but inflexible.
“The other option is George Furbank. Northampton’s captain has suffered his share of injuries but there have been glimpses of true international potential as a full-back with the vision of a fly-half; in victory against Ireland in the 2024 Six Nations, he was superb. Whether he has quite the physique and physical attributes is the concern.”
Given his lack of depth at full-back, Barnes demanded that Arundell be considered. “There is no doubt, full-back is not overflowing with contenders, whereas England are loaded with the bulk Borthwick likes out wide. Can Arundell become the Jordan of England while playing wing for his club on a regular basis?
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“It is an issue, and with Santiago Carreras and the dependable Tom de Glanville available, the West Country side have no need to make a switch. Yet Arundell grew up as a full-back. It was as a converted wing that he struggled to impose himself.
“Defensively, it is not straightforward to move from wing to full-back. When to rush and when to buy time. In attack, full-backs and wings share the same space into which they can destroy broken-field defences. An England back three of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman (or Tom Roebuck) and Arundell gives Borthwick a balance for both kicking and passing, and an edge as potentially coruscating as any in world rugby.
“Had England a Jordan at full-back, that may just complete them. In Arundell, they possess their own equivalent. Be bold, Borthers, be bold.”
