"It's a tough one" - Dylan Hartley tells England boss Steve Borthwick to drop 94-cap star

 “My head is telling me that George Ford will play with Alex Mitchell but in my heart, I would love to see Alex and Marcus paired together – and that is nothing against George.

“It’s a tough one. I can’t see Steve Borthwick changing George Ford but then again, where England are in the tournament I don’t think they will learn anything about themselves with established players on the field.

“I would understand if some more inexperienced guys were selected as the experience will be great for them – but the same old story of professional sport, fans and the RFU demanding results will most probably mean it is an experienced side selected.

“Alex Mitchell will come back in and rightly so. He is the in-form scrum-half. He is the sort of guy that can spark something – he is an instinctive player. He is the sort of guy that gives it a crack, which is really good. What you need outside of that is someone who wants the ball as well.

“I don’t think England are going to lose anything by playing George Ford, but I do think there is an opportunity for Borthwick to be bold in his selection for Ireland. The question Borthwick faces is does he stick with his tried and tested or do you start to move on?

“Marcus Smith has been out, but now he is back. Where does he fit into the side? Does Borthwick wait for Ford to retire and then play Smith? It would be too late by then. He needs to be bold with his selection decisions.

“It will come down to how England want to play. Do they want to play quite a balanced game – I’m not saying Marcus can’t play balanced – or do they want to throw caution to the wind and give him (Smith) a crack and go for it? England can’t win the tournament, so that is the dilemma Borthwick is facing.

“I love a lot of the experienced players in the team… but the future of the England team would be better served by giving the next generation an opportunity from here on at this tournament. Equally, when blooding young guys it’s great to have some old gnarly war horses around them – we can’t just go select an U21 side and hope for the best.

“These senior players instil confidence and calm when dotted about a team and will lead to better performances from the inexperienced guys. It’s such a fine balance.

“Then you have the whole obsession with picking between Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence. I have always loved playing alongside a powerhouse 12 – like an extra back rower who gives you clear punch and direction – but then I don’t think that Fraser Dingwall would have done too badly against Scotland if he kept his place in the team.

“For me, Dingwall is a really intelligent rugby player. He isn’t known for crash bash but he is quietly capable due to intelligent running lines. He has got soft, silky hands and makes appropriate passes and a player like that was missing (against Scotland).

“He didn’t do anything wrong in the opening two games of the tournament and then, suddenly, Lawrence is back available and he comes back into the team. Being honest, I don’t think that really worked.”

While the decision to switch national teams remains speculative, there are five players who could be considering such a move. Additionally, there are other notable names, such as Sam Underhill and Manu Tuilagi, who could also potentially swap nations. Underhill could opt for the USA, while Tuilagi may consider representing Samoa, given their respective birthplaces.

Furthermore, the Vunipola brothers, Mako and Billy, might contemplate switching to Tonga, the birthplace of their father, under these new eligibility laws.

The Leicester Tigers winger, who was given his debut by Borthwick in 2023, has expressed his willingness to potentially represent Wales in 2026.

Despite earning two caps for England during last year's Six Nations, the 25-year-old hasn't been included in Steve Borthwick's squad since then. Notably, he was absent from England A's recent triumph over Portugal.

Ahead of this year's Six Nations, Gatland had mentioned Hassell-Collins several times, especially during the discussion surrounding another dual-qualified winger, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

“I have seen Gatland’s interview,” Hassell-Collins told the Telegraph.

“I’ve got two caps for England, and obviously I’m English. But if I don’t see anything in the next few years then it’s definitely something that I would consider.

“I would qualify [for Wales] the year of the World Cup – that is, if he still wants me. Wales is still part of who I am.

"My grandma was Welsh and I still have family over there. It’s still a part of me – and I’d never turn it down – but for now it’s England for me.”

Lynagh, the Treviso-born son of Australia great Michael who also played for the Italian club in the 1990s, quit Harlequins to join Italian club Benetton a couple of weeks ago with the aim of representing the Azzurri.

The 23-year-old was called up by England under Eddie Jones but failed to win a cap and has been overlooked completely by Steve Borthwick since he took over in December 2022.

Lynagh is part of a 33-man group named by Italy technical commissioner Gonzalo Quesada for the clash in Lille on February 18.

On confirming his move to United Rugby Championship high-flyers Benetton, Lynagh said: “It’s been a difficult decision to leave my boyhood club but I feel the time is right for a new challenge in Italy.

“I have lived in England since I was four-years-old, but Italy and Treviso have always been in my heart.

“My father played a fundamental role not only in my rugby career, but also in my life. He always wanted the best for me and always agreed with every decision I made.

“He told me that playing in Treviso will be the best for me and my style of rugby.”

When asked if he'd be open to swapping nations, he told Rugby Pass: “Yes, 100 per cent,”

He added: “I’m just focusing purely on Black Rams and just playing as well as I can and letting the selectors do their job.

“The coaches and their staff are all in Europe at the moment and I’m not sure when they will be coming to Japan. We’ll wait until the day comes.

"If he picks me, we will make the decision then, but we have got two more games to go (at Black Rams) and we are trying to finish as high as we can up the table and go from there.”

Making waves in the Top 14 and Europe with Montpellier, Mercer pulling on the famous All Black jersey would be as shocking a switch of nationality that the game has ever seen. 

Described as ‘fat and lazy’ by England boss Eddie Jones before his international debut in 2018, this would be the ultimate way to prove the Aussie wrong.

The only drawback to the switch is to become eligible for New Zealand he’d have to join one of their Super Rugby sides.

Despite being snubbed by Borthwick for both Rugby World Cup and Six Nations rosters, Mercer, son of Gary who earned 21 caps for New Zealand in rugby league, could still engineer an improbable transition.

Lozowski, who has an Italian grandmother, could take advantage of the new World Rugby rules surrounding eligibility. 

The Saracens star, who won the last of his six England caps in 2018, could swap with immediate effect following the rule change and was approached by former Italy boss Kieran Crowley on multiple occasions.

“I have been in contact. I haven’t personally been in contact with Paolo but he has been contacted,” Crowley said at the Six Nations launch last year.

“The other two [Lozowski and Lynagh] I have spoken to personally. They have made decisions at the moment that I respect. I support them. I’ll keep in contact with them. But certainly if they were available, we’d certainly be looking at them. They are all quality players.

“We will keep the lines of communication open. Not only with those three but there are a number of others as well.”

The other two players mentioned have since accepted Italy call-ups.

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