"Freddie Burns & Sam Burgess" - 10 England Players Who NEVER Played in the Six Nations

Throughout the past 24 iterations of the competition, countless iconic England players have graced the Championships to win a total of seven titles, and the two Grand Slams of 2003 and 2016. Sir Clive Woodward's men first achieved the undefeated accolade, on the run up to being crowned World Champions at the following Autumn's Rugby World Cup. Then 13 years later, Eddie Jones turned around the England side's 2015 low-point, to win the Grand Slam in his first crack at the competition.

However amongst the on-fields stars of England's Six Nations campaigns, there have been numerous England players to never participate in the competition. Despite gaining test match caps for the country in the likes of Summer Tours, Autumn Internationals and Rugby World Cups, these 10 players never achieved on-field minutes in the annual battles between the Northern Hemisphere's tier one nations.

Here are 10 former England internationals who never played in the Six Nations Championship.

Had Freddie Burns been a star of a different era, then the talented fly half could well have been a mainstay in the England number 10 jersey. Burns made his England debut against the All Blacks in 2012, however, the former Bath, Gloucester and Leicester Tigers man had fierce positional rivals during his time on the test match scene. With the likes of Toby Flood, Owen Farrell and George Ford competing for the fly half spot, Burns' England run was a sporadic one, that ended in 2014.

Despite being a mainstay in the Premiership for eleven seasons, Burns never broke onto the Six Nations stage. Burns ended his career in England with that iconic drop goal, after replacing an injured George Ford to win Leicester the 2021/22 Premiership title. The 33-year-old is Currently plying his trade in Japan with the Toyota Industries Shuttles, following a brief run in New Zealand with the Highlanders.

Christian Wade's England future looked scorchingly hot back in 2012/13, as the Wasps wing had garnered a fearsome reputation as one of the Premiership's top finishers, and was amongst the fastest players in the English top flight. 18 tries in the 2012/13 Premiership season earned him both the Player's Player and Young Player Awards, with his talents recognised by the Rugby Players Association.

Wade made his test match debut on the 2013 Summer Tour to Argentina, and the wing then capped this off with a call up for the 2013 British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia. However, a series of unfortunate injuries soon followed, and with Chris Ashton in full flight, Wade was moved down the ranks with emerging talents Jonny May and Jack Nowell making their England break-outs. Wade quit rugby in 2019 to play American football in the NFL, and after a three year stint with the Buffalo Bills made his return to the sport in 2022, when he signed for Racing 92.

The dual-code rugby-footballer began his professional sporting career in rugby league, where he broke onto the scene at St. Helens. In 2011, Kyle Eastmond switched to rugby union, and quickly established himself as a potential England candidate with impressive performances at Bath. In 2013, Eastmond was called-up by Stuart Lancaster, and like Wade, made his England debut against Argentina in that year's Summer Tour.

He soon progressed into a starting role, with Billy Twelvetrees called up for the 2013 British & Irish Lions, there was a vacancy in the England midfield. Eastmond scored in the following test match win against Los Pumas, yet was unable to follow up on this momentum once Lancaster's side had returned to the Northern Hemisphere. Eastmond was unable to gain consistent England traction throughout his following stints at Wasps and Leicester Tigers, and returned to rugby league in 2022, as he agreed a move to Leeds Rhinos.

One of the most under-utilised England talents, Saracens centre Alex Lozowski has all the attributes of a playmaking midfielder, that could have shined for the national team under Eddie Jones. After narrowly missing out on the 2017 Six Nations squad, Lozowski was called-up for his England debut on the following Summer's Tour to Argentina and started his first cap at inside centre.

An additional replacement appearence on the tour then followed, before yet another run-out against Los Pumas in the following Autumn Nations Series. Competition was rife in the England midfield in the late 2010's, with Owen Farrell often utilised outside of George Ford, leaving no space for Lozowski in the 12 channel. The likes of Henry Slade, Jonathan Joseph and Ben Te'o were all vying for the 13 spot, with Manu Tuilagi also waiting in the wings to re-claim the jersey after an injury break.

5. Denny Solomona (5 England Caps)

Another dual-code player who never played in the Six Nations, former rugby league wing Denny Solomona first made a name for himself with London Broncos and Castleford Tigers in the Super League. Solomona broke the record for most tries in a single season, as he scored a staggering 37 tries for the Tigers, in the 2015/16 campaign. With his stakes sky-rocketing, Solomona's 2016 code-switch to rugby union soon followed, with plentiful excitement backing his arrival at Sale Sharks.

The former Samoan international quickly made a name for himself at the AJ Bell, and garnered the attention for an England call-up in his second Premiership season. In a running theme for Six Nations omissions, Solomona went on to make his England debut against Argentina, when Eddie Jones' side toured the South American country back in the Summer of 2017. He scored a try in England's victory in San Juan, but was then dropped for the following year's Six Nations. Solomona closed out his England run against the Springboks on the 2018 Summer tour, before moving on to the Highlanders in 2022.

There was a time when Jacob Umaga was firmly in the spotlight, and billed as England's next big thing for the number 10 jersey. The former Wasps man had a stunning break-through in the 2019/20 Premiership season, and held a similar standing within England contention that Northampton Saints' Fin Smith does today. England fans were crying out for the young half to make an international break-out, and got their wish in England's win over the United States in the Summer of 2021.

However, what followed was out of Umaga's control. The halfback continued to excel with Wasps, before the Coventry club announced their financial administration in October 2022. It was a brutal blow, as along with Worcester Warriors (and later London Irish and Jersey Reds), top English talents were left treading the waters of free agency, with Umaga snapped up by Italian club Benetton in the United Rugby Championship. Due to signing a contract extension overseas, Umaga is out of England contention for now but could well get a long awaited Six Nations run, should he return to the Premiership and continue his fine form.

The third and arguably the most famous dual code rugby players on this list, Sam Burgess joined up with the England national team for what could only be described as an 'experiment' in 2015. Burgess was a household name in rugby league, after three seasons with Bradford Bulls, and an additional four playing 'footie' with the South Sydney Rabbitohs down in Australia's NRL.

Burgess joined Bath in 2014, and was fast-tracked into the England squad to be the equivalent of New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams. Burgess made his senior test debut against France on the run-up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and earned himself a spot in Lancaster's squad that became the first host nation to suffer a pool stage elimination. Burgess' last England caps came in the World Cup, as England were defeated by Wales and Australia in Pool A. Burgess returned to the Rabbitohs the following year, where he stayed until the end of his playing career in 2019.

There is still plenty of time for Ted Hill to come off this list, as the Bath back-row continues to grow from strength to strength in blue, black and white. The bruising flanker is one of the Premiership's top tacklers, yet has so far been unable to make it click on the test match stage. Hill was brought into the England squad in 2019, after taking up a starring role within the U20 set-up. Hill earned the call-up under Eddie Jones, and ran out against his head coaches' former (and also future) team, Japan.

After this five minute run-out, Hill went back to the U20 side and continued to ply his trade in the U20 Six Nations and World Championships. His age-group graduation soon followed, and Hill became a top name for Worcester Warriors, before the side's collapse in 2022. Bath fans had been enjoying Hill's contributions across the back-row, before he sustained a severe upper leg injury last October, which has curtailed his current season and any immediate hopes of a Six Nations debut. Here's hoping that the hard-hitting Worcesterman makes a swift recovery, to build his momentum for next year's Six Nations Championships.

It is a bizarre feat for an England player to achieve nine test caps, with none of those appearances coming in the annual Six Nations competition. This so happens to be the case for Piers Francis, as the former Northampton Saints man made caps for England from 2017 to 2019. After moving to New Zealand at the age of 18, the Kent born back played for provincial clubs Waikato, Auckland and Counties Manukau. A Super Rugby call-up came in 2016 with the Blues, before Francis returned to his homeland the following season, as one of the top talents on the rise.

Adaptable to both fly half and centre, Francis was called up for England before making his debut for Northampton Saints. Like so many others, his debut came in the 2017 Summer Tour of Argentina, and he added to his cap collection on the run up to the 2019 Rugby World Cups. Warm-up appearances against Wales, Ireland and Italy prepped him for the trip to Japan, where he received a 49 minute run at inside centre in the pool stage win against the United States. Francis signed for Bath after four seasons at Franklins' Gardens, but has had limited involvement at the Rec this season.

Rounding off our list of Six Nations exemptions is Toulon hooker Jack Singleton. As is the case for the likes of Jack Willis, Henry Arundell and soon to be Owen Farrell, as Singleton plays in the French Top 14, he has ruled himself out of contention for England caps in the foreseeable future. The former Gloucester and Saracens front-row made the decision to leave the Premiership last season, as one of many ex-England players to vacate overseas.

As like the majority of entries on this list, Singleton also made his England debut against Argentina amongst the class of 2017. Despite a solid run with Worcester Warriors for the following three seasons, it was not until Singleton joined Premiership heavy-hitters Saracens that he was back in the England set-up. The hooker timed the move perfectly, as he participated in the run up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and appeared alongside Piers Francis against the USA. Singleton's last efforts whilst wearing the rose, was when England lost to the Barbarians at Twickenham, in the Summer of 2022.

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This extraordinary feat is as scarce as they come, with only 20 players accomplishing the remarkable three-try milestone since the Championship expanded to six nations in 2000.

Notably, a couple of players have even pulled off this astonishing feat twice, adding an extra layer of prestige to their rugby prowess.

Now, take a moment to rewind and test your memory. Can you recall the names of these exceptional hat-trick heroes?

If you manage a perfect score, you'll undoubtedly be entitled to a celebration on par with the jubilant antics witnessed by some of the stars on this illustrious list.