"New Year, New Chances" - 5 England Hopefuls Who Impressed in the Premiership Last Weekend

With the countdown to the 2024 Six Nations now well underway, England Head Coach Steve Borthwick has to start drafting up his squad lists ahead of the opening weekend. These five talents all did themselves favours, and ran out stunning performances across the weekend in the English top flight.

We now take a break away from Premiership action with a two-week return to the Champions and Challenge Cups. So, before we turn our attention to the scintillating clashes in store across Europe and South Africa, lets have one last glance back at the five England bolters who shot out of the gate last weekend. Here are the five England hopefuls who impressed, in Round 11 of the Gallagher Premiership.

One of the most re-occuring faces in our 'Top 5 England Hopefuls' lists, Ollie Sleightholme was once again tearing up trees in the Premiership. Back out on the right wing after a brief run on the left, Sleightholme lit up Sandy Park with a barn-storming hat-trick of tries. After trailing 26-0 to Exeter at half-time, Sleightholme's trifecta of scores breathed life into the Saints for the dramatic comeback win.

There were numerous honourable mentions from this meeting in Devon, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso showcasing his tricks to score in the first half, following on from the news that he has opted to chose England over a return to Wales. Sleightholme's Saints teammates Rory Hutchinson and George Furbank also shone at Sandy Park, in the dramatic 36-42 away victory. Yet we have opted for Sleightholme, who was the star man on the day.

His blistering pace was on full display, and he has been making his try-scoring opportunism a staple of his performances. Six tries in his last six matches, Sleightholme is a try machine and could well be adding another key 'Six' to his recent accolades, should he receive a call-up into 'Rugby's Greatest Championship'.

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2. Dan Kelly - Leicester Tigers

Dan Kelly set the tone of the afternoon against Saracens, as he raced away to mark the opening try with a score after just 10 minutes. Expertly reading the pass of Owen Farrell, Kelly held his line well and plucked the ball out of the air, before outpacing Lucio Cinti to the Welford Road try-line. Adaptable and dependable, Kelly has long been a reliable name to link up in the Tigers midfield, and could well be on his way to re-unite with Steve Borthwick in the England camp.

Borthwick knows all too well the talents that Kelly presents, having brought the 22-year-old into the Tigers fold amidst loans to Sale Sharks and Loughborough University. Kelly has one England cap to his name, coming in an 80-minute run out against Canada in 2021. Prior to this Kelly earned Ireland age-grade honours, yet could well be on his way back to the England camp after previous involvement in wider training groups. Kelly was sensational against Saracens, and was unfortunate to not score a second try, as Elliot Daly denied the score by the finest of hold ups.

With Joe Marchant out of the England picture and question marks surrounding Manu Tuilagi's groin injury, Borthwick will be re-shuffling his centres for the Six Nations. Predominantly an inside centre, Kelly could well star with Henry Slade on the outside, in a new-look England midfield.

3. Gabriel Ibitoye - Bristol Bears

England are two men down on the wings following the Rugby World Cup, as Jonny May's international retirement has sparked a great deal of contention for his vacated spot. Couple that with Henry Arundell's contact extension at Racing 92, and Borthwick will be looking to bolster the depth of his flyers for the upcoming Six Nations. Ibitoye has been consistently amongst the front-runners for a call up, with this star making performance re-iterating his talents out wide.

The winger was outstanding in the win against Sale Sharks, with his attributes highlighted on both sides of the ball. He capped off a strong run-out with a try, as he showed an unmatched desire to recover the bouncing ball, and neatly evaded Joe Carpenter on his way through to score. In defence, Ibitoye was biting off more than he could chew, but only to come back for extra helpings. He put in thunderous shots on the biggest Sale ball carriers, often leaving the powerhouse forwards on the deck.

With seven tries to his name in all competitions this season, Ibitoye has been putting the Premiership's most promising wingers on notice. The former Agen, Montpellier, Tel Aviv Heat and Harlequins man has excelled in many different kits, yet is eagerly eyeing up the opportunity to run out and wear the red rose this coming February and March.

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Sticking with Bristol for now, lock Josh Caulfield had arguably his strongest performance for the Bears since joining at the start of the season. The former London Irish second row was a key piston in the Exiles engine room, and has since transferred his skills to Bristol, to drive his new side into gear. Caulfield performed in everything that was asked of him, with a brilliant display of physical dominance in both attack and defence. Laying waste to the nimble Sale back-line, Caulfield impressed even the most determined Sharks fan inside the AJ Bell.

Caufield's starring involvement came on the run-up to Max Malins' try, as it took three Sharks defenders to halt his powerful leg drive. The ball then fizzed through the hands, and made it's way to Max Malins, who scored in the corner off the back of a wonderful assist from Dan Thomas. Worthy of an honourable mention, Malins had his best Bristol performance since returning from the Rugby World Cup, and also did himself plenty of favours ahead of Borthwick's England team announcement on January 17th.

The West Country derby is always likely to drum up a closely fought encounter. Neither Bath or Gloucester wanted to lose the bragging rights, yet it was the men in blue, black and white who once again claimed the spoils over their Cherry and White neighbours. In such a tightly contested 17-10 Bath win, you would be hard pressed to overlook the efforts of Bath fullback Tom De Glanville's playmaking efforts. De Glanville was instrumental in piecing together the match-winning puzzle, with two key tries building to the victory.

De Glanville's first key contribution saw him link up with Will Muir, with an intelligent pass to the left wing. De Glanville supported the wide-man's run, and offered the option to charge away down-field to score. The photo finish only added to the effort, in what was truly a score for the cameras. The second was the pick of the Bath bunch, and saw De Glanville split the Gloucester defence with a well timed run, before stepping his way past the last defender in an excellent showing of individual brilliance.

Predominantly a fullback, De Glanville has previously presented his ability to play on both wings and even fly half. Despite Owen Farrell's England withdrawal not looking to have a direct connotation to De Glanville's call-up, the butterfly effect could see Marcus Smith brought back to fly half, and open the door for De Glanville to support Freddie Steward as a full-back option.

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