Ben Earl has revealed that Sam Underhill being dropped has shocked the England camp with the Sarries back-rower hoping his speed can help earn him a World Cup place.
“It’s phenomenal,” Earl said. “I guess not many nations will have the competition we have in terms of experience. In 2019, Sam Underhill was probably one of the players of the tournament.
“That just goes to show how competitive it is. Sam trained brilliantly and it was a shock to us all that he was no longer involved. That really struck home with us.”
Unlike the previous era under Eddie Jones, Borthwick has discarded any selection ambiguity and is consistently engaging with his players in preparation for the upcoming tournament in France.
As he faces the challenge of narrowing down his wider training squad to 33 players, Borthwick has been vocal an
England then kick-off their Rugby World Cup in Marseille, in a hotly anticipated clash against Argentina on the 9th of September. Here are RUCK’s predictions for the positional hierarchy, for England’s Rugby World Cup squad pecking order.
FIRST CHOICE SQUAD
Front Row
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
2. Jamie George (Saracens)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears)
Locks
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens)
5. Ollie Chessum* (Leicester Tigers)
Back Row
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
7. Jack Willis (Toulouse)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Halfbacks
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Centres
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
13. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks)
Back Three
11. Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers)
14. Max Malins (Saracens)
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)