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Four England internationals make Top 14 team of the week
By Josh Raisey
Four England internationals have made French publication Midi Olympique’s Top 14 team of the week after round two of the competition.
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The loosehead-tighthead propping combination of Mako Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler that ran out for England on many occasions have made this team after only their second match in the competition.
Though Vunipola’s newly promoted Vannes were on the losing side against Stade Francais, falling 34-31 at the Stade Jean Bouin, it nevertheless had a standout performance from the 33-year-old, who retired from international duty at the beginning of the year.
The former Saracen produced a match-high three turnovers in a scrum-heavy contest.
His former England colleague Sinckler was tasting victory for the first time in the Top 14 at the same time. His Toulon side triumphed over Castres 30-28 at home.
It was also victory for England’s two other internationals in the XV, Toulouse’s Jack Willis and Racing 92’s Henry Arundell, who both have plenty of experience in the competition.
Willis’ side earned a 35-27 victory over modern rivals La Rochelle at the Stade Ernest-Wallon on Sunday, where he produced a staggering 24 carries- six more than France No.8 Gregory Alldritt in second. He also registered the joint-most turnovers of the match with two.
A try-scoring display was enough for Arundell to make the XV as well, as Racing beat ASM Clermont Auvergne 33-20 at the Stade Dominique Duvauchelle. The 21-year-old also made four line breaks in a match where no one else was able to manage more than one.
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The benefit for England head coach Steve Borthwick is that three of the four players still have their sights set on playing for England again despite being ruled out while in France.
Sinckler has emphasised his burning desire to play at the 2027 World Cup, while Arundell’s contract in France expires in 2026. Willis too is under contract with the Top 14 and European champions until 2026, so England will be aiming at luring him home and making him eligible again.
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It strikes me as extremely foolish to stay in france until 2026. If these guys came home in 2025 they'd be pretty much guaranteed international rugby, as Borthwick will need to pick from an expanded group of players given his leading guys will be with the Lions, whereas in 2026 he'll (hopefully) have a pretty settled group of guys ahead of the world cup.
If England develop as hoped over the next few years then Sinckler, Willis, and Arundell will all need to be looking genuinely world class to break back into the squad. World cups are won by experienced teams, so unless England are really really struggling in a particular position, it will almost always be better to stick with guys who have minutes together, rather than reintroduce someone who has 0 minutes of international rugby in the past 3 seasons, and who doesn't have any experience of playing with the rest of the team.
If they've agreed a move they can be called up earlier, unlikely they'll wait until they're off contract