2. Fin Smith – Northampton Saints
With Owen Farrell’s upcoming move to Racing 92 confirming him to be out of the England fold for the foreseeable future, Fin Smith is ready to bolster the squad’s fly half ranks. The Northampton Saints man has been in tremendous form this season, and has been steadily progressing for his test match debut after narrowly missing out on the 2023 Rugby World Cup Squad.
Smith was involved in the previous Summer’s preparations, yet did not make the grade for the trip to France, as Farrell, George Ford and Marcus Smith were the selected trio of fly half options. The 21-year-old talisman that has lead Northampton to the top of the Premiership, and an as-far unbeaten run in the Champions Cup, the former Worcester Warrior has emerged as one of the Premiership’s top fly halves and has rightfully returned to the England squad.
Following his squad announcement, Steve Borthwick spoke about how Northampton Saints’ playmakers have evolved their game to an excellent level. Fin Smith is amongst the team’s pivotal figures, and the England head coach recognised how the Saints are making test match ready decisions.
“In terms of the visits to the clubs and chatting to the club coaches, we’re doing that regularly. Wiggy’s (Richard Wigglesworth) been there at Northampton a number of times. I think you’ll see that has always been a talented group of players, and you see in evolution in their game, which has been really smart.”
“You can see that, we all know that they sit atop of the table, and their evolution’s changed. They run the ball a little bit less, they kick the ball a little bit more. You see the smartness of how they’ve developed that game. They have the ability to move the ball, and work the ball on edges either by running or by kicking, and that balance has been been excellent. I think you’ve probably seen a change in their decision making processes in some of their key players.”
“I think that decision making process of what the right thing to do at the right time is, is crucial in Test rugby. Test rugby is so tight, games are so tight, and understanding and making those key decisions at the right time, is integral to get the result you want.”
3. Chandler Cunningham-South – Harlequins
Chandler Cunningham-South continues to go from strength to strength, and has rightfully been rewarded with a call-up to the England senior squad, after gaining U20s honours. Cunningham-South made his way up the rungs in his early days at London Irish, and began to garner an name for himself across South West London.
His reputation could not be ignored by the Exiles’ old neighbours, that when Irish entered financial administration, he was quickly approached by Harlequins for his signature. After a turbulent few months following his former club’s financial collapse, the back-row has settled into his new life at the Stoop, and has steadily become one of the top fan favourites at Harlequins.
“Chandler, he wants to carry, he wants to take his team forward.” Borthwick said. “When the opposition have got the ball, he wants to stop them. He trained against England in August, for Harlequins, we did a session against Harlequins, and he was outstanding, really physical. He was a player who was at London Irish and had the opportunity to go overseas (when Irish collapsed), play elsewhere in the world. He chose to stay in England, he chose to work towards playing for England and he signed for Harlequins. I think he’s a player who’s got enormous potential.”
Harlequins Director of Rugby Billy Millard said: “It’s great to see him get big, big minutes. And he was cramping there at the end (against Ulster), and rightly so. But you know, he just showed, he’s got so much go forward and aggression hasn’t he. He just needs to keep getting game time. We’re stoked he’s going in with England and I’m sure he’ll be much better for it. Whether he gets starts or not, just being in that environment for Chandler is going to be outstanding for everyone.”