Six huge England stars among those to miss out on 2023 Six Nations

At today's England Rugby press conference, Borthwick discussed the difficult squad selection process, and recognised that there are notable absentees from the squad.

"Well, I think the door for any player is open. What we want, and what everyone is the room would want, is an England squad where you have got players competing for places. The selections that we... and believe me, we have sat for hours haven't we. We have sat for hours discussing this selection, and going through it. It should be that way."

"It should be tough to select. And then, there will be good players, really high quality players, who are not selected, as well as all the players that are in. Now, that's what we want, and our job is to select as well as we can and coach them to the very, very best of our abilities."

So, following on from today's squad announcement, lets look over six England players who missed out on selection, for the Six Nations curtain raiser.

A consistent name on the team sheet throughout Eddie Jones' time in charge of England, Vunipola misses out on Borthwick's first squad selection. Due to the untimely injury of Tom Curry, it was expected that the Saracen may populate a back-row slot in the squad, but Borthwick looked elsewhere.

The new Head Coach has instead opted for a back-row contingent which includes Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs heavy hitters, Alex Dombrandt and Sam Simmonds, as well as the side-lined Tom Curry's younger brother Ben. The 2022 Premiership Player of the Year Ben Earl, who was criminally overlooked for England throughout the Eddie Jones era, is also selected in the squad.

Billy Vunipola has made 68 caps for England, and was a prominent feature at number eight since 2013. A famed ball carrier, capable of bull-dozing over defenders, Vunipola was a fan favourite at his England peak, scoring eight tries. However with so many talented back-rowers competing for places, it is speculated by many that Billy has played his last game for England.

The Exeter Chief's flying winger has been a feature of the England set-up since 2011. Numerous injuries halted Nowell's international consistency, yet expectations were promising for the Cornishman to be included in the latest Six Nations squad.

There has been great speculation around Nowell's future with the Chiefs, as he is expected to be departing Sandy Park come the end of the season. His England career has now also come under questioning, with Borthwick today confirming that the 29-year-old will miss out on the Six Nations opener against Scotland.

Nowell last wore the rose in the latest Autumn Internationals, with starting appearances against Argentina and the All Blacks, before being dropped to the bench for the clash against South Africa. Nowell replaced Tommy Freeman, playing the entire second half against the reigning World Champions, in his last England cap.

Borthwick selected the aforementioned Freeman, as well as the exciting duo of London Irish's Ollie Hassall-Collins, and Harlequins' Cadan Murley, as out-and-out wingers.

Sticking with the wingers, Jonny May is another talented speedster who didn't make the cut under Borthwick. England's new Head Coach has clearly opted for youth out wide, which sees the 32-year-old May left out of the squad. The Gloucester man has had an entertaining career in an England shirt, providing supporters with a highlight reel of moments, such as his dramatic diving finish against Italy in the closed-doors 2021 Six Nations.

May is a proven scorer in an England shirt, capable of crossing the whitewash on the biggest occasions. He is the second highest try scorer for his country, and the leading scorer of the professional era. With 35 tries in 72 caps, he is second only to the great Rory Underwood.

May was last seen in England's final Autumn International of 2022, as he started on the left wing against South Africa. May started all of England's Autumn Internationals except for the match against Argentina. Borthwick's insistence on utilising younger players, and giving them major competition experience ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, shines clear with May's exclusion from the squad to face Scotland.

One of Eddie Jones' newest editions to the England training squad prior to his departure, Gloucester prop Val Rapava-Ruskin would be let down to hear that he is missing out, after his breakthrough at Kingsholm. Still uncapped in an England jersey, the Georgian born prop has been putting on inspired performances in the Cherry and White.

Val has established himself as a fan favourite, combining his powerful ball carrying with textbook 'old-school' scrummaging, the prop also has four tries this season for the club. His exclusion from the England squad will only benefit the West Country club. Head Coach George Skivington will utilise the league's international departures, to work towards securing a top four Premiership finish for Gloucester.

The returning Dan Cole asks questions of Val's experience on the biggest occasions, with Borthwick preferring the veteran Leicester Tigers man. 35-year-old Cole returns to the England set-up for the first time since the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final defeat to the Springboks. He will bring the experience to the younger selected front rowers, Joe Heyes and Bevan Rodd.

5. Adam Radwan

Another winger who was not in Borthwick's plans this time around, Adam Radwan has been lighting up the pitch for Newcastle Falcons this season. Considered to be one of the leagues fastest players, when Radwan gets going, he is very difficult to stop.

Radwan's pace nears an Olympic standard, and he has a recorded running of 100m in just 10.85 seconds, at an England camp. Radwan has gained the eleventh highest meters made, out of all of the Premiership's players this season, with 530m with ball in hand. His talents have also taken him to score three times in the league for Falcons, in this campaign.

The 25-year-old has two England caps, and certainly made his mark upon his debut. The winger scored a hat-trick against Canada, in the 70-14 thrashing in the Summer of 2021. The selected England squad does not feature a single player from the North Eastern club, who can strive to build on their current eighth placed spot in the Premiership.

A line-breaking midfielder, with the technical prowess to distribute the ball, Ollie Lawrence is an all-round centre who has just failed to make the grade for Steve Borthwick's opening England squad. A stand out performer in Worcester's sinking ship, the 23-year-old left the Warriors after their financial collapse, and quickly found a new home in Bath.

Lawrence's England experience has been a short but sharp journey so far. Making his debut at 21-years-old, Lawrence impressed Eddie Jones, who awarded him a total of seven caps. A try against the United States, in the North American tour of 2021, was Lawrence's last cap for his country so far, in what wrapped up a whirlwind of international exposure.

The Bath centre has since grown, and is tipped to be the natural heir to Manu Tuilagi's bruising carries in the centre of the park. The move to Sale Sharks has re-invigorated Tuilangi, who will hope to avoid any injuries ahead of what could be his last chance at winning the Rugby World Cup. Yet if history repeats itself and Tuilagi is once again out through injury, then an England opportunity may present itself to Lawrence, once again.