A closer look at which England players are heading to Japan and New Zealand this summer and who might miss out on the final squad.
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Time is running out for England players to impress head coach Steve Borthwick and win a place in his squad for this summers three matches.
England will play Japan in Tokyo before two subsequent clashes with the All Blacks in New Zealand this summer.
Borthwick’s side lost their last game against France in Paris, however, despite that setback got progressively better as the Six Nations went on with what could be a landmark victory against eventual champions Ireland in round four.
But there are now just a few weeks of club rugby before the head coach decides on his provisional squad, and there remains fierce competition a place in the squad.
Here is a closer look at who is heading on tour, and who might miss out.
On The Plane
Jamie George (Saracens)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Elliot Daly (Saracens)
Immanuel Feyi-Wabaso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
Nearly There
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)
Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons)
Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Work To Do
Cadan Marley (Harlequins)
Ben Obano (Bath Rugby)
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons)
Jonny Hill (Sale Sharks)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) – Still hasn’t returned from a serious hip injury
Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints)
Alfie Barbeary (Bath Rugby)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
Oscar Beard (Harlequins)
Max Ojomoh Bath Rugby)
Will Muir (Bath Rugby)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins) – In a race against time to recover from injury
Predicting England’s summer squad
Hookers (3): Jamie George, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Theo Dan
Front-row (6): Ellis Genge, Dan Cole, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Bena Obano, Joe Heyes
Second-row (4): Ollie Chessum, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Charlie Ewels
Back-row (6): Ben Earl, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, Ethan Roots, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Curry
Scrum-halves (3): Alex Mitchell, Harry Randall, Ben Spencer
Flt-halves (3): Marcus Smith, George Ford, Fin Smith
Centres (4): Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Elliot Daly, Fraser Dingwall
Back-three (4): George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Wabaso, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Sleightholme
“Re-imagination” – England handed easy pool for 2027 Rugby World Cup
The new format will feature six pools of four teams, with a round of 16 added prior to the quarter-finals.
This will enable the tournament window to be reduced from seven to six weeks, while promoting a rhythm that builds momentum across the pool phase and respects the same minimum number of rest days between matches as at France 2023.
If the 2027 Rugby World Cup Draw was made tomorrow, this is what the Pools may look like (based on rankings)
2027 Rugby World Cup draw (Current rankings)
POOL A
- South Africa
- Japan
- Georgia
- Hong Kong
POOL B
- Ireland
- Fiji
- Samoa
- Chile
