#3. George McGuigan
Departing Newcastle Falcons for pastures new at Gloucester last month, George McGuigan has settled into life at Kingsholm, and found exciting form ahead of the Six Nations. McGuigan enjoyed two spells for Falcons, either side of a a year at Leicester Tigers.
McGuigan scored plentiful tries at Kingston Park, as the 29-year-old crossed the line 48 times for Newcastle, effectively utilising their rolling maul to get onto the scoresheet.
McGuigan shines at the set-piece, and would hope to drive his England teammates over the line if called upon. The Gloucester hooker has Jamie George to train alongside at Pennyhill Park, who is a proven scorer from set-plays, and the first hooker to ever score a hat-trick for England.
The hooker could certainly learn from George, and pick up a few tricks of the front-row trade for an eventual England debut. Despite being named in Eddie Jones’ training squad for last Summer’s Australia tour, McGuigan failed to get onto the pitch for his country.
Things may be different under Borthwick, who overlooked his Gloucester teammate and fan favourite Val Rapava-Ruskin, opting instead for McGuigan as one of the back-up hookers.