England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his 36-man squad for the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, with a stacked roster of talent unveiled today at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
England set out amongst the favourites for this year’s competition, as the men who wear the famous red rose are enjoying a hot streak of 11 consecutive wins in a row, dating back to last year’s Championship.
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Whilst there are plenty of exciting stars to discuss throughout the confirmed wider training squad, there will always be the asterisk of those players who did not make the grade for the annual competition. In this article, we take a look at the five top England hopefuls that have missed out on a place in the 2026 Six Nations, for the time being at least. Due to the intensity of the five-round campaign, the door will remain ajar for this quintet of Premiership stars, should injuries or suspensions change plans for Borthwick’s side.
Just for some further clarity before we get stuck into our picks, we have some housekeeping to take care of. We are not including the injured players that will continue their rehabilitation with the England squad, as they head out to Girona, Spain in the coming weeks. Namely, these players are; Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks) and Fin Smith (Northampton).
Also, we won’t be taking into consideration any injured player that is set to be sidelined for the duration of the 2026 Six Nations with long-term injury lay-offs. So, we won’t be including the likes of Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Curtis Langdon (Northampton), George Martin (Leicester), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale), Adam Radwan (Leicester) and Will Stuart (Bath) on this list.
ENGLAND SQUAD FOR 2026 SIX NATIONS: 5 PREM RUGBY HOPEFULS WHO MISSED OUT
TED HILL (BATH)
One of the most overlooked talents that England have on offer, Ted Hill has missed out on a place within the England squad despite a stellar run of form in the blue, black and white of Bath. A multi-positional asset, Hill brings a quality that Steve Borthwick has long sort after, in how he is adaptable and dependable across the locks and able to cover the back row.
Despite this trait, Hill has fallen just short and will remain in the West Country for the time being, as Bath continue upon their PREM Rugby Cup title defence. Given Hill’s qualities at covering any spot from numbers four to eight, the 26-year-old must be on the stand-bye list should any injuries or suspensions occur throughout the campaign. It’s another tough blow for the Bath man, as despite making his England debut in the 2018 Autumn Series, he has been unable to garner a consistent run on the Test match stage.
It looked like it was finally Hill’s time in the saddle as he collected two England caps in the 2025 Six Nations, with his captain Maro Itoje even comparing his super-human strength, speed and endurance to that of Superman. However, time will now tell if Hill will be able to build upon his four Test match caps, in what is one of the biggest omissions from the England squad this year.
