Tom Willis and Max Ojomoh might be in line for England call-ups for his or her Six Nations opener in opposition to Eire, with Ojomoh in line for a Check debut.
Head coach Scott Borthwick is about to shake issues up when he names his squad for the opening match of the 2025 match at 11.30am on Tuesday, January 14.
England misplaced 5 Checks in a row – spanning a two-Check tour of New Zealand final summer season and Autumn internationals in opposition to the All Blacks, in addition to Australia and South Africa – earlier than getting again to successful methods of their final run-out in opposition to Japan.
In addition to anticipated call-ups for Willis and Ojomah, scrum-half Alex Mitchell is about to return to the squad after having missed the Autumn motion as a result of damage.
Sale scrum-half Raffi Quirke may be price a glance as a substitute possibility from the bench, whereas will probably be attention-grabbing to see how England fill the void left on the wing by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s absence.
The 22-year-old will miss the complete Six Nations due to the dislocated shoulder he sustained on membership responsibility for Exeter final month.
England face defending champions Eire on the Aviva Stadium in Dublin of their Six Nations opener on February 1. Borthwick’s males beat Eire at Twickenham in final yr’s match which denied Eire the Grand Slam.
England received the higher of Eire at Twickenham within the 2024 Six Nations
‘Willis set to be rewarded for excellent type’
Sky Sports activities Information’ James Cole:
The one participant elevating his hand greater than every other for a call-up to Steve Borthwick’s Six Nations squad is Tom Willis. The Saracens No 8 has been excellent for his membership this season.
Willis is a supremely highly effective ball-carrier, who appears to at all times make metres in touch – and his current efficiency in opposition to Bristol was among the finest particular person shows of the season.
There are rising requires Willis to begin at No 8 forward of his Saracens teammate, Ben Earl, in England’s Six Nations opener in opposition to Eire in Dublin on February 1.
That’s excessive reward certainly – and means he needs to be a shoo-in when Borthwick broadcasts his wider squad on Tuesday.
Is Max Ojomoh in line for his England Check debut in opposition to Eire?
One other unestablished worldwide knocking on the door, is Tub centre Max Ojomoh, son of former England again row, Steve. He is uncapped however very a lot on Borthwick’s radar, having been referred to as as much as England’s coaching camp throughout final yr’s Six Nations.
He too is in glorious type, impressing not too long ago in opposition to Northampton and Clermont. His silky dealing with abilities and sensible operating strains make him a stand-out expertise. And though Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade are nearly sure to proceed as England’s midfield pairing, Ojomoh is pushing tougher than ever.
The 2 Smiths – Marcus and Fin – are positive to be named however who begins at 10, divides opinion.
Will Marcus Smith get the nod for England once more at No 10 of their Six Nations opener?
The mercurial Marcus has a singular potential to chop open defences from anyplace on the sphere – however his sport administration at worldwide stage has been questioned since England’s poor Autumn marketing campaign; and with fullback George Furbank injured, Borthwick could think about switching the Harlequins 10 to fifteen.
There’s, nonetheless, no debate over who ought to begin at scrum-half in Dublin. The return of Northampton’s Alex Mitchell from damage is an enormous enhance. Borthwick – not sure of his pecking order – switched between three totally different 9s in the course of the autumn: Ben Spencer, Harry Randall and Jack Van Poortvliet.
The return of Mitchell will add tempo and fluidity to England’s assault, in addition to extra management to their kicking sport.
Having gained simply 5 out of 12 video games in 2024, this appears like a make-or-break yr for England and Borthwick. And Six Nations begins do not come harder than Eire and France in successive weekends.
Six Nations 2025 fixtures: England
- February 1: Eire (a)
- February 8: France (h)
- February 22: Scotland (h)
- March 9: Italy (h)
- March 15: Wales (a)
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