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How England could look at the 2027 World Cup
By Josh Raisey
And with that semi-final performance against South Africa, there is suddenly renewed hope with English rugby. Plenty of England’s next generation came of age in the narrow loss to the reigning world champions at the Stade de France, painting a completely different picture for Steve Borthwick moving forward.
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George Martin, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell and Freddie Steward are just some of the names who will not only still be in their 20s next World Cup, but all had terrific semi-finals, many of which putting in their best ever performances in a white jersey. At the same time, there were figures who will also not be with England in four years’ time, who will leave black holes in the starting XV that will be very hard to fill.
With that in mind, an England squad in 2027 will look quite different from what it looked like this year, but there is an established foundation of young stars that Borthwick can build his squad around and then sprinkle in players who are currently on the under-20 circuit.
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Given the burgeoning back row resources that England look to have, a 6-2 split on the bench seems like a good option in England’s 23. With the arrival of Felix Jones from the South Africa coaching team, he may even be able to cajole Borthwick into an audacious 7-1 split. Even then, there are some brilliant back rows that miss out. Equally, there are some areas where England look like they might be quite thin on the ground, with the front row being the most alarming department, as it was at this World Cup.
This squad is heavily influenced by the events of the weekend and the recent World Cup, but in truth, some players who missed out on this World Cup, such as Zach Mercer, are surely destined to play a pivotal role in the England squad over the next four years.
England XV in 2027 (age at the start of the RWC)
1. Bevan Rodd (27)
2. Theo Dan (26)
3. Will Stuart (31)
4. Maro Itoje (captain) (32)
5. Lewis Chessum (24)
6. George Martin (26)
7. Tom Curry (29)/Tom Pearson (27)
8. Ben Earl (29)
9. Alex Mitchell (30)
10. Marcus Smith (28)
11. Ollie Hassell-Collins (28)
12. Dan Kelly (26)
13. Ollie Lawrence (27)
14. Henry Arundell (24)
15. Freddie Steward (26)
Replacements
16. Jamie Blamire (29)
17. Ellis Genge (32)
18. Joe Heyes (28)
19. Ollie Chessum (27)
20. Chandler Cunningham-South (24)
21. Alfie Barbeary (26)/ Jack Willis (30)
22. Raffi Quirke (26)
23. Fin Smith (25)
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I would be surprised if Sales Opoku Fordjour and Northampton’s Tommy Freeman are not in the team, Anthony Watson is also one that could go on the wing. One thing I must say is that the front 3 will get destroyed against a team like South Africa.
Tuipulotu and Henry Pollock I believe, young as they are, will feature in there. Possibly Reuben Logan if he doesn't go to Scotland, which is a distinct possibility. I also really like Louis Lynagh, and Maasi-White at centre cover. These guys will be very young come the next world cup (22/23) but then again, look at Chessum and Martin now? Finn Baxter is very likely to feature in the front row too. Plenty coming through that I think some included in the team provided above won't actually be there necessarily. There's a few others coming through that I've not mentioned. I also really hope that over the next 4 years Cokanasiga and Radwan could develop themselves to fulfil their promise. Plenty to look forward to.
Looks like a lightweight team.
I'll be sad if Radwan isn't in the team in 4 years
Surely England can find a better centre than Kelly over the next four years?
How New Zealand and or South Africa could remain on TOP. Can you ask some SH journos to write about Fiji and Samoa or Argentina. It's always Ireland/ England what on earth man
This seems like a reasoable prediction.
I think hooker will be the hardest position to fill in 2027. I suspect George and Cowan-Dickie will continue to be first and second choice for another year or two, while Borthwick prays that Jibulu develops into a top talent. If he doesn’t then Dan, Blamire, and Dolly, could all do a job, but I doubt any of them will really nail down the position in a convincing manner.
At second row I’m a bit suprised to see Lewis Chessum selected. He’s certainly a possibility, and I think he’ll make the squad, but I think Ollie is a bit more likely. I also think George Martin is likely to play more at 5 than 6, so I reckon it’ll be him at 5, and then some combination of Itoje and Ollie Chessum at 4 and 6.
I can’t disagree with the starting selections at 7 and 8, but Jack Willis is unlikely to be in the 23 I think. He’ll be unavailable next season, and possibly forever, but if he does come back to England i think that he’ll have lost a lot of ground to Pearson, Ludlam, Mercer, et al. and will struggle to play himself back into contention even if he is a marginally better rugby player than any of them.
At 9 I think JVP is nailed on to start. Mitchell, Quirke, and Randall are all in contention for the bench spot.
On the wing I think Hassell-Collins is a possibility, but not a probability. Personally I think Tommy Freeman should have that spot nailed down, but I also thought he should have been in the world cup squad so maybe Borthwick has an issue with him. If Borthwick won’t pick him then I think the best bet is to just wait and see which young guy scores the most tries in the premiership the next couple of seasons - it could be someone we haven’t even heard of yet!
And finally, while Smith and Smith will probably the top 2 flyhalves, never count out Ford and Farrell!
Also - the bench composition doesn’t make sense for the team selected in the article. If a centre gets injured there is no cover!
Amusing - England got creamed in the scrum 4 years ago to lose by 20 points. England got creamed in the scrum in the last 15 mins on Saturday to have a 9-point lead turned into a loss. And your bright idea for 4 years’ time is to start Bevan Rodd and Will Stuart at prop! OUCH!