LOCKS
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens)
5. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
We predict to see Maro Itoje back in the England engine room, after the Saracen reached his revered top gear in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. A game-winning lock on his day, Borthwick may look to utilise Itoje as the bench-mark mentor when bringing through new second rowers. One of the favourites for the vacated England captaincy that narrowly missed out, Itoje’s leadership has been widely reported, and he could help Alex Coles in his return to the England squad.
The Northampton Saints lock was last seen at test match level in the 2022 Autumn Internationals, where he starred across lock and back-row under Eddie Jones. The 24-year-old made his England debut against Argentina, before going on to run out against South Africa and Japan at Twickenham. Coles has been pivotal to Northampton’s domestic successes this season, and has been rightfully rewarded with a national team return. We can see Borthwick giving him a shot against Italy, with Chessum ready for the harder matches of the latter tournament.
BACK ROW
6. Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs)
7. Ben Earl (Saracens)
8. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Rounding off the England squad to start in the Six Nations opener, we predict to see a test match debut for Exeter’s Ethan Roots on the blindside flank. It was a tough call between Roots and Harlequins’ Chandler-Cunningham South, yet after hearing Borthwick’s explanation of how he tracked the New Zealand-born talent since his days with Ospreys, Roots gets the nod in our predicted squad. The hard-hitting back-row will relish the opportunity to take on the Azzurri, and could well enjoy an Exeter re-union with Italy-selected back row Ross Vintcent.
The exclusion of Billy Vunipola and long-term injury to Tom Curry, has influenced the decision behind Ben Earl’s move from number eight to flanker. The re-calling of Alex Dombrandt also adds a specialist to the back of the England scrum, after the Harlequin missed out on selection for the Rugby World Cup by the narrowest margin. Starting with Earl, the fiery Saracen looks poised for a strong Six Nations campaign, and continue his run as one of England’s most reliable performers on either side of the ball.
Dombrandt has been excellent for Harlequins following his World Cup omission, and looks set to reclaim his spot in the number eight jersey. The 26-year-old has previously stated how he never lost motivation on the rugby pitch, with his impressive Harlequins performances earning him a re-calling to the England squad. Five tries in all competitions for the 2023/24 season, Dombrandt has been a powerhouse in the back-row with the added explosiveness best seen around the loose of the park. His try against Racing 92 optimised this, as Quins recorded a historic win in the Champions Cup campaign.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Theo Dan (Saracens)
17. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
19. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
20. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
21. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
22. George Ford (Sale Sharks)
23. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)