Borthwick confirms England star won't return — ends his international career over the phone

Willis has been omitted after informing Borthwick of his decision to leave Saracens at the end of the season to join Bordeaux in France, a move that will make him ineligible for England selection under current rules. Borthwick confirmed he had a personal conversation with the player late last week.

“Tom told me his decision late last week, gave me a call and talked about some of the reasons he made the decision he has made to play in the future overseas,” Borthwick said. “That was a private conversation so I am not going into those reasons but he knows how highly I rate him as a player and a person and I wished him well.

“I think he also understands why I have decided all the time we have should be invested in players who are going to be at the World Cup in two years’ time. We are aiming to win a World Cup for England, we want to win now and we want to win that World Cup in two years’ time.

"Tom is not going to be part of that World Cup, given the decision he has made and he understands that, he understands the decision I made. I wished him well. He thought long and hard and found it a very tough decision to make so I wished him well.”

Willis, who was handed an enhanced EPS contract back in August, remains under contract with the union for now, but Borthwick made it clear his focus has moved on. “The contract is in place and from my point of view after he told me last week my focus has been on this camp and this selection and not on contracts between a player and the union. I am focused on this.”

Pressed on whether losing a player of Willis’s calibre to France signalled a wider issue, Borthwick was philosophical. “I think that you can see with Fin Smith, George Ford committing their futures to English rugby in recent weeks. If you go back a period of time, you’ve seen other big figures of English rugby committing their future – Maro Itoje a year or so ago.

"I think that we’ve got a group of players that are passionate about playing for England. Tom has made a decision, players have decisions to make. I would expect this squad, with the talent we have, to be wanted by clubs all around the place and have big offers put in front of them. George Ford being a prime example of it, committing his future to English rugby.”

Borthwick admitted he was disappointed to lose Willis but emphasised his duty to look forward. “I’ll say exactly what I said to Tom on the phone. I think he’s a wonderful rugby player and a great bloke. He’s made a decision. Players have to make decisions and everyone makes decisions for their own individual reasons. It’s not for me to go into that decision he has made.

"My job is to then focus on who is going to be playing for England to win that World Cup in two years’ time and who I should be investing time with now.”

Borthwick pointed to the depth of options England have in the back row, highlighting the likes of Ben Earl, Chandler Cunningham-South and Henry Pollock as capable of stepping up. “The vast majority of games over the last two years have been started, at No.8, by Ben Earl. We all see Henry Pollock, with his ball carrying ability being strong in that position and Chandler.

"Unfortunately Chandler can’t train tomorrow but should be fit next week hopefully. I think we have got a multitude of options,” he said.

He also praised the versatility and dynamism within England’s back row stocks. “You start looking at that back row, looking at Emeka (Ilione), Sam Underhill and Guy Pepper and Tom Curry when he is fit and Ben Curry who will be back fit soon and Chandler, we have got good back row speed and dynamism with the talent we have got.”

Tom Curry and Elliot Daly remain on track to return from injury during the autumn window, though they are not expected to feature against Australia. “At some stage in the autumn, I am sure both of them will be available to play,” said Borthwick. “That’s the assessment which is being made right now. There’s still some medical sign-offs that you need to have but they are pretty well advanced. They are certainly not far away.”

Among the faces in camp is 23-year-old Leicester back-rower Emeka Ilione, who Borthwick praised for his work rate and technical ability. “His performances in the second half of last season were exceptional, most of them were off the bench finishing games and he had a big impact.

"The start of this season he's continued that, including his ability at No 8. Everyone would say he is a brilliant jackaller… I’ll add a slight nuance to that - he's fantastic over the ball, stealing ball and not conceding penalties. He's the best I can see at stealing the ball and doing it in a way that means the referee rewards him and doesn't give penalties against him.”

Another exciting name included is 19-year-old Saracens wing Noah Caluori, invited to train after scoring five tries on his first Prem start against Sale Sharks on Saturday. Borthwick revealed Caluori has long been on England’s radar. “It seems to you [that he is here quickly]. It was over a year ago that I started getting sent footage from Conor O’Shea, Mark Mapletoft and Jonathan Pendlebury.

"Clearly the work he has done in pre season at Saracens and the start of the season he has had there, and it is immense credit to Saracens, he has had some experience. He has been on the radar for a good period of time.”

With Australia less than two weeks away, Borthwick is under no illusions about the challenge ahead. “The great challenge we have is that preparation time and bringing the team together quickly.

"What that means is us using every minute to ensure we’re as well prepared as possible, keeping the preparations simple, going after two or three things and trying to do those things super well. I have full confidence in these players to come together quickly.”

Bursting onto the scene following a sensational performance in the fourth round of the Gallagher PREM, is Saracens' latest break-out talent Noah Caluori. The hot-stepping wing was the headline act of the past weekend of the English top flight, as Caluori scored an astonishing five tries as Saracens dismantled Sale Sharks down at the StoneX Stadium.

This win over the Manchester club was only Caluori's third PREM Rugby fixture, as the 19-year-old has been fast-tracked into the England squad under a 'Development Player' role. England fans have become steadily familiar with this terminology over the years, with the likes of Marcus Smith taking up the role ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Caluori has gained previous international honours within the England U20 set-up, as the 19-year-old starred for Mark Mapletoft's side throughout the latest U20 World Championships.

Caluori made his Saracens debut in the latest pre-season, as he ran out for the North Londoners in the PREM Rugby Cup defeat to Leicester Tigers. The future is certainly bright for Caluori, should he keep up this meteoric rise to prominence and take valuable learnings from his time within the senior England environment. Remember the name with big things expected from the bright young spark.

With Noah Caluori officially classed as a 'Development Player' within the announced England squad, Leicester Tigers back row Emeka Ilione holds the accolade of being the only uncapped player in Steve Borthwick's listed training squad ahead of the Autumn Nations Series. The hype has steadily been building around the East Midlands for Ilione to earn his England call-up, as he has garnered the adulation of the Welford Road faithful.

At 23-years-old, Ilione has been on the Tigers books since 2018 with a steady progression through the academy. The back row signed his first professional contract ahead of the 2022/23 Premiership season, with Leicester happy to loan the young gun out to Nottingham Rugby for some crucial senior men's game time in the Championship. Ilione's last match for the Archers came in September 2024, with the back row retained upon the Tigers squad to earn his stripes all throughout last season.

Ilione certainly impressed former Leicester head coach Michael Cheika, as the Australian handed the back row a place upon the bench for the latest Premiership Rugby Final at the Allianz. Whilst Leicester came away from Twickenham on the losing end of the score-line to Bath, Ilione made a personal highlight as he bagged a try in the final in a fiery appearance from the bench. Ilione has steadily progressed into a first choice starter in the Leicester back row, with his England experience and a potential Test debut in the Autumn only set to elevate his game.

It was a tough choice whether to highlight Adam Radwan or Henry Arundell within this third spot, with both of the high flying wings getting their performances dutifully recognised with a spot each in the England training camp. Whilst Arundell's return to the PREM has been an impressive comeback story following London Irish's collapse and an injury hindered stint with Racing 92, Radwan's steady graft over multiple seasons gets the tip of the hat for our third entry upon this list.

Radwan last played for England back in the Autumn Nations Cup of 2021, when Eddie Jones selected the speedster for a hard-fought clash with Tonga. Radwan scored a well-taken try in the win over the Pacific Islanders, yet the outside back was unable to return to the Test match stage in the time since. Radwan was a solid week-in and week-out operator for Newcastle, yet the Falcons' underwhelming form would often see Radwan struggle to find the spotlight and catch the England selectors' attention.

With blistering pace that is his undeniable x-factor, Radwan finally decided to leave the North East once his contract expired mid-way through the 2024/25 Premiership season. With reported offers on the table from Bath and in the French Top 14, Radwan headed to Leicester back in January, where he's since enjoyed a fresh change of scenery at Welford Road. Upon his first season in the East Midlands, Radwan made an appearance in a Premiership Final, and the wing will be hoping to return back to Twickenham this Autumn with the red rose upon his jersey.

Having spent an unforgettable Summer on tour with the British & Irish Lions, you would be forgiven for forgetting that Henry Pollock only has one senior England cap to his name. The 20-year-old is back for more this Autumn, with Steve Borthwick naming the bright young spark amongst his experienced group of forwards within the Pennyhill Park training squad.

Pollock's 2024/25 season was the stuff of dreams, as the back-row burst onto the scene with an incredible string of first team appearances for Northampton Saints. Having cut his teeth with Bedford Blues against the grizzled veterans of the Championship, Pollock was primed and ready to be unleashed upon the top flight, yet not even he would have expected just how rapid his rise to prominence would be.

Pollock produced viral moments in Northampton's phenomenal Champions Cup run, with 'pulse-checking' and 'basketball shooting' celebrations imitated across the grass roots game. Just one month after the back row played his final match for the England U20s, Pollock earned his senior Test debut for Steve Borthwick's side, and produced a debut of dreams off the bench against Wales in the 2025 Six Nations. Pollock scored two tries in Cardiff, as England made light work of their age-old rivals.

Then came the call from Andy Farrell, as Pollock was revealed to be the youngest member of the Lions squad for the Summer tour of Australia. The Saints man made his Lions Test debut in Dublin against Argentina, but would not feature in the trilogy series against the Wallabies. Pollock currently holds a unique Test record of one England and one Lions cap, with the back row bolter set to build upon his tally, as he could finally get his hands upon the Wallabies this Autumn.

The future is now for England's front row, with a changing of the guard witnessed at the end of the 2024/25 Premiership Rugby season. Whilst Joe Marler hung up his boots mid-way through the campaign, the latest Premiership Final marked the end of Dan Cole's career, with a new breed of England props set to jostle over the one and three jerseys for the foreseeable future.

A man with the unique ability to stake a claim to both the loose and tight-head shirts, is Sale's versatile prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour. On paper, the 21-year-old is listed as a tight-head prop, however, the front rower did run-out at loose-head for England A as recently as last November. Opoku-Fordjour was a loose-head all throughout his England U20s career, yet Alex Sanderson deploys the wrecking-ball upon the tight-head at Sale Sharks.

This versatility could pave the way for Opoku-Fordjour to have a starring role in the Autumn, as a multi-tooled covering option to explode from the bench. Opoku-Fordjour mirrors Henry Pollock, in having a singular senior international cap to his name, as the Sale prop made his debut last Autumn in England's one-sided win over Eddie Jones' Japan. Despite missing out on the 2025 Six Nations campaign, Opoku-Fordjour is back now in the mix, with added experience under his belt following a pre-tour training camp stint with the British & Irish Lions in the Summer.