"Zach Mercer included" - England’s best XV based entirely objectively on current form
Rugby NewsMonday, 15 April 2024 at 15:36
As we approach the crucial phase of the 2023/24 season, discussions abound regarding Steve Borthwick's selection dilemmas for England's summer tour.
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With fixtures against Japan and a long-awaited encounter with New Zealand, anticipation is high for an exhilarating series.
Both England and the All Blacks find themselves in transitional phases, bidding farewell to stalwarts post-World Cup. Moreover, New Zealand introduces a new head coach, Scott Robertson, eager to make his mark swiftly.
Fixture details are as follows:
- Japan vs. England, Saturday 22nd June, National Stadium (kick-off time to be confirmed)
- New Zealand vs. England, Saturday 6th July, Forsyth Barr Stadium (kick-off at 8:05 am BST)
- New Zealand vs. England, Saturday 13th July, Eden Park (kick-off at 8:05 am BST)
The discourse often centers on selecting players purely based on current form. Hence, we've crafted a full XV of England players excelling in the ongoing 2023-24 season, including several uncapped talents.
England’s best XV based entirely objectively on current form
15. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
14. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
12. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
1. Fin Baxter (Exeter Chiefs)
2. Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints)
3. Will Collier (Harlequins)
4. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
5. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
6. Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons)
7. Will Evans (Harlequins)
8. Zach Mercer (Gloucester)
50 best British & Irish Lions of all-time (via The Guardian)
50. Robert Jones (Wales) - Scrum-half - 1989 - P3 W2 D0 L1 - 73
49. Tom Smith (Scotland) - Prop - 1997, 2001 - P6 W3 D0 L3 - 75
48. Matt Dawson (England) - Scrum-half - 1997, 2001, 2005 - P7 W2 D0 L5 - 76
47. David Sole (Scotland) - Prop - 1989 - P3 W2 L1 - 90
46. Rhys Williams (Wales) - Lock - 1955, 1959 - P10 W5 L5 - 94
45. Neil Jenkins (Wales) - Fly-half - 1997, 2001 - P4 W2 D0 L2 - 99
44. Jason Robinson (England) - Fullback/Wing - 2001, 2005 - P5 W1 D0 L4 - 105
43. Roger Uttley (England) - Back row - 1974 - P4 W3 D1 L0 - 107
42. Bobby Windsor (Wales) - Hooker - 1974, 1977 - P5 W3 D1 L1 - 109
41. Jonny Wilkinson (England) - Fly-half - 2001, 2005 - P6 W1 D1 L4 - 110
40. Rob Andrew (England) - Fly-half - 1989, 1993 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 110
39. Paul O'Connell (Ireland) - Lock - 2005, 2009 - P6 W1 D0 L5 - 114
38. Peter Wheeler (England) - Hooker - 1977, 1980 - P7 W2 L5 - 119
37. David Duckham (England) - Centre - 1971 - P3 W1 D1 L1 - 128
36. Jack Kyle (Ireland) - Fly-half - 1950 - P6 W2 D1 L3 - 147
35. Finlay Calder (Scotland) - Back row - 1989 - P3 W2 D0 L1 - 149
34. Dean Richards (England) - No. 8 - 1989, 1993 - P6 W3 D0 L3 - 174
33. Dickie Jeeps (England) - Scrum-half - 1955, 1959, 1962 - P13 W4 D1 L8 - 191
32. Bill Beaumont (England) - Lock - 1977, 1980 - P7 W2 D0 L5 - 191
31. Graham Price (Wales) - Prop - 1977, 1980, 1983 - P12 W2 D0 L10 - 204
30. Jim Telfer (Scotland) - No. 8 - 1996, 1968 - P8 W2 D1 L5 - 204
29. Syd Millar (Ireland) - Prop - 1959, 1962, 1968 - P9 W2 D2 L5 - 219
28. Lawrence Dallaglio (England) - No. 8 - 1997 - P3 W2 D0 L1 - 219
27. Fergus Slattery (Ireland) - Flanker - 1971, 1974 - P4 W3 D1 L0 - 232
26. Mike Teague (England) - Flanker - 1989, 1993 - P3 W3 D0 L0 - 238
25. Ieuan Evans (Wales) - Wing - 1989, 1993, 1997 - P7 W4 D0 L3 - 258
24. John Dawes (Wales) - Centre - 1971 - P4 W2 D1 L1 - 258
23 Cliff Morgan (Wales) - Fly-half - 1955 - P4 W2 D0 L2 - 272
22. Richard Hill (England) - Back row - 1997, 2001, 2005 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 286
21. Tony O'Reilly (Ireland) - Wing - 1955, 1959 - P10 W5 D0 L5 - 287
20. JJ Williams (Wales) - Wing - 1974, 1977 - P7 W4 D1 L2 - 300
19. Scott Gibbs (Wales) - Centre - 1993, 1997 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 305
18. Ian McGeechan (Scotland) - Centre - 1974, 1977 - P8 W4 D1 L3 - 315
17. Keith Wood (Ireland) - Hooker - 1997, 2001 - P5 W3 D0 L2 - 325
16. Gavin Hastings (Scotland) - Fullback - 1989, 1993 - P6 W3 D0 L3 - 337
15. Gordon Brown (Scotland) - Lock - 1971, 1974, 1977 - P8 W5 D1 L2 - 346
14. Andy Irvine (Scotland) - Fullback/Wing - 1974, 1977, 1980 - P9 W3 D1 L5 - 346
13. Jeremy Guscott (England) - Centre - 1989, 1993, 1997 - P8 W5 D0 L3 - 362
12. Fran Cotton (England) - Prop - 1974, 1977 - P7 W4 D1 L2 - 375
11. Ian McLauchlan (Scotland) - Prop - 1971, 1974 - P8 W5 D2 L1 - 382
10. Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland) - Centre - 2001, 2005, 2009 - P6 W1 D0 L5 - 399
9. Phil Bennett (Wales) - Fly-half - 1974, 1977 - P8 W4 D1 L3 - 411
8. Mervyn Davies (Wales) - No. 8 - 1971, 1974 - P8 W5 D2 L1 - 448
7. Mike Gibson (Ireland) - Centre - 1966, 1968, 1971 - P12 W2 D2 L8 - 489
6. Gerald Davies (Wales) - Wing - 1968, 1971 - P5 W2 D1 L2 - 495
5. Barry John (Wales) - Fly-half - 1968, 1971 - P5 W2 D1 L2 - 501
4. JPR Williams (Wales) - Fullback - 1971, 1974 - P8 W5 D2 L1 - 529
3. Martin Johnson (England) - Lock - 1993, 1997, 2001 - P8 W4 D0 L4 - 535
2. Willie John McBride (Ireland) - Lock - 1962, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1974 - P17 W5 D3 L9 - 546
1. Gareth Edwards (Wales) - Scrum-half - 1968, 1971, 1974 - P10 W5 D3 L2 - 574
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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