#5. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons)
Jamie Blamire could not have picked a better weekend to show his set-piece strengths for Falcons. Borthwick is yet to have picked a single player from Newcastle in his Six Nations squad, which seemed to have added more fuel to Blamire’s motivation for recognition. Tom Dunn replaces the injured McGuigan, but Blamire has certainly staked his claim for a call-up with his performance against Connacht.
Playing just over an hour in the Challenge Cup, Blamire presented his strength early on. Driving a rolling maul, which had to be halted by an overcommitted Connacht, presented space for scrum-half Michael Young to score. A second maul forced Connacht over their try-line, with Blamire’s involvement proving crucial, as Matias Orlando grounded the try. An eventual 35-21 Newcastle victory, was down to the hard working forwards, with a noteable contribution from Blamire.