A packed treatment room, an opening
Nobody saw this coming. The Nations Championship was meant to be a formality for the England pack. Instead, it has become a testing ground.
Ben Curry, Bevan Rodd, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill, Trevor Davison, Fin Baxter. All out. Maro Itoje, meanwhile, has been rested. Steve Borthwick has been forced to look elsewhere.
The result? Doors have opened. George Kloska and Emmanuel Iyogun earned their first caps. Beno Obano returned. Henry Pollock, Guy Pepper and Asher Opoku-Fordjour stacked up the minutes. It is the sort of run that can shake up a pecking order.
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The men on the rise
Henry Pollock, first. The back-rower pops up everywhere, at number eight and out wide. A headache for Borthwick, but the good kind.
Ollie Chessum has shifted to flanker and has almost forced his way to the top of the back-row mix, lineout work included. Guy Pepper has backed it up. Behind them, with Itoje rested, Alex Coles and George Martin have grabbed their chance in the second row. And then there’s Joe Heyes. Named England’s player of the year for 2025, Leicester’s tighthead prop remains untouchable in his role.
The men slipping back
Tom Curry is sliding down the flanker rankings. Not through poor form, just because the competition has caught him. Ted Hill, Chandler Cunningham-South and Jack Kenningham are also losing ground. Nick Isiekwe too, left stranded in the second row.
Up front, though, the core remains steady. Jamie George keeps the captaincy and the starting shirt. Ellis Genge still owns the loosehead slot. The real test now comes in November.
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