"Borthwick's Bolters" - The Uncapped Players In England's World Cup Training Squad

Borthwick's side are set for back-to-back encounters with Wales, a trip to Dublin to face Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland, and a final stop against Fiji at Twickenham Stadium. After Borthwick announced a 28 man squad last week, he bolstered the group today with 15 new arrivals at Pennyhill Park.

Amongst this contingent are some uncapped England hopefuls, who are aiming to make their mark in the upcoming Summer internationals, and secure themselves a spot on the plane to France. Here are the five players who will be aiming to do just that.

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One of English rugby's most exciting young talents, fans have been calling for the international break-out of lock Tom Pearson following consistent stellar performances with his former club London Irish. One of the most talked-about players following the financial collapse of the Exiles, Pearson will call Franklin's Gardens home next season, as he has agreed a deal with Northampton Saints.

Pearson joins the Saints with former London Irish teammates and future England stars Chunya Munga and Tarek Haffar, but has the hopes of pulling on an England jersey before he runs out for Northampton next season. Pearson had a phenomenal season with the Exiles, and is now considered to be amongst the best defenders in the Premiership.

Pearson finished joint-first in the tackle charts, making a staggering 240 tackles in the 2022/23 Premiership season, with a 94% tackle completion rate. The 23-year-old shared the accolade with new Northampton teammate Alex Moon, yet took home the 2023 RPA Young Player of the Year Award all for himself. Pearson averaged out 73 minutes a game for Irish last season, and presented his attacking threat by making 496 metres with ball-in-hand.

A fantastic talent, England fans have been hopeful of Pearson's breakthrough ever since it was first reported that former Exiles Head Coach Declan Kidney had been in discussion with Steve Borthwick about his players.

Regarded by many England fans to be long overdue a call-up, Gloucester's Val Rapava-Ruskin has been on the fringes of an international breakthrough since the tail-end of the Eddie Jones era. The Georgian-born prop is regarded amongst the best scrummagers in the Premiership, and frequently comes up with the plaudits following a scrum-time turnover for the Cherry and Whites.

The prop also has a keen eye for the try line, and is able to make the key yards to muscle his way through defenders to score. Rapava-Ruskin scored five tries for Gloucester in the 2022/23 Premiership season, and has become a firm fan favourite with the Kingsholm faithful. The 30-year-old joined Gloucester back in 2017, and in February Rapava-Ruskin extended his contract in the West Country, where he will continue to ply his trade.

Already a Gloucester centurion, the timing seems right for Rapava-Ruskin to make the breakthrough onto the international stage. The Rugby World Cup is a marathon, and considering Rapava-Ruskin's unexpected pace at the sprint, the prop will be a worthwhile asset to Borthwick's squad for the upcoming competition.

Rapava-Ruskin would add a high quality reinforcement to the England pack, during the latter stages of a world cup fixture. Rapava-Ruskin could well make his debut in one of the four World Cup warm-up fixtures, as Borthwick tries out his entire arsenal of talent, before cutting down the squad for the competition.

Fraser Dingwall - Northampton Saints

A star of the England U20s level, Fraser Dingwall made 15 international appearances for the age group side. Now 24-years-old, the Northampton Saints player is eagerly anticipating his senior squad breakthrough having been on the fringes of the England squad since his first call-up in 2020. Dingwall was omitted into the group for the 2020 Six Nations, yet has not been able to make his mark at senior level for now.

The former England U20s captain, Dingwall is familiar with the honour of representing his country. He led the age-group England side out at the 2019 U20s World Championships, with England recording victories over Italy and Australia, for an overall seventh placed finish. Dingwall has been lighting it up at senior level for the Saints, and is part of a Midlands-heavy contingent added into the latest wave of Borthwick's wider-training squad.

Dingwall has scored seven tries from the Northampton midfield this season, crossing over for key tries against Sale, Gloucester and even grabbing a hat-trick against Saracens. Averaging 75 minutes a game, Dingwall's distribution has also seen him make six try-assists for the Saints, as the Midlands side reached the Premiership play-offs.

Fin Smith - Northampton Saints

Northampton's third uncapped player in the latest England squad, Fin Smith rounds off the Saints contributions for England's bright-looking future. The fly-half has understandably not been able to break into the senior squad as of yet, as Borthwick's recent decision making for the number 10 jersey has revolved around the Owen Farrell - Marcus Smith - George Ford selection saga.

However, Fin could well be on his way to becoming the latest 'Smith' to run out at fly half for England. Borthwick will see the upcoming warm-up matches as opportunities to test his top names, but he will also want to reduce any potential injury risk as much as he can ahead of the World Cup. Fin Smith could well get his test debut against the likes of Fiji, and save Farrell or Marcus from any further battering at the hands of the Pacific Islanders.

The 21-year-old has proven his ability from the tee this season, slotting an impressive 115 points for the Saints in the 2022/23 Premiership campaign. Likes his namesake in Marcus, Fin Smith carries the ball high to the defensive line, before shipping the ball off to create line-breaking opportunities. The halfback is often hit hard in contact, yet has the resiliency to bounce back and get set for the upcoming phase of fearless attack.

Fin Smith also directly created six tries for the Saints this season, and scored two of his own as Northampton reached the semi-finals of the play-offs. An excellent distributor of the ball from first receiver, Smith made 193 successful passes throughout the latest Premiership campaign, and made just one unsuccessful passing mistake all season.

Cadan Murley - Harlequins

The latest star to explode out of Twickenham Stoop, Cadan Murley has been amongst the England conversation since the appointment of Head Coach Steve Borthwick. The flying Harlequins winger was initially brought into the camp ahead of the 2023 Six Nations, yet Murley was let go back to his club, with veteran winger Jonny May preferred in the following week's camps.

Murley went on to have an unignorable season, finishing at the top of the try-scoring charts after crossing for 15 tries in the latest Premiership season. A source of many ‘try-lights’, Murley’s best photo finish came early on this campaign.

The 23-year-old’s diving try against Northampton Saints in October, after beating three back-peddling defenders along the left wing, certainly got the conversation started for an England call-up. Murley has only gotten better since, so be prepared to see some exhilarating runs in the England shirt this Summer.

Murley did not reach top spot by dotting down easy overlap scores, and has the running records to bolster his claim for an England debut. Murley also topped the Premiership charts for clean breaks this season, making 30 in an exhilarating year. Murley is hopeful to join his Harlequins teammates whilst 'wearing the rose', with Murley providing an exciting uncapped asset to Borthwick's squad.