Charlie Elliott: Winners and Losers from Steve Borthwick’s England squad selection for Argentina & USA

Steve Borthwick has named his side to travel to the Americas this summer, ahead of their two Tests against Argentina and one against the USA. 

With the British and Irish Lions being away in Australia, opportunities for other players to step up are plentiful, and it could be a new dawn for England. 

There have been a lot of notable omissions and surprising picks, though. 

Here, Charlie Elliott goes through some of the winners and losers from the recent squad announcement, looking at those fortunate to be picked and unlucky to miss out. 

Winners 

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 

Plenty of questions have been asked about whether Feyi-Waboso’s inclusion is warranted, given that he is going to miss two of the three games in the Americas. 

On the one hand, he is the best winger England have got at their disposal right now and will be a huge part of the squad going forward, so taking him on this tour and allowing him to be part of the environment will help. 

On the other hand, because he can’t play two games, it may have been better to take one of the in-form players in the Premiership instead, who is also available for all of the games. 

Because he has only recently come back from a long-term shoulder injury, too, it may have been beneficial to him personally to have the summer off and be able to have some proper time to recover. 

He personally may not be a winner from being selected, but on the balance of things, is pretty fortunate to be part of the squad. 

Alex Dombrandt 

Steve Borthwick continues to persist with Alex Dombrandt, despite being shown on numerous occasions that he isn’t currently up to Test standard. 

He put in a solid performance off the bench against France XV, and there were clear improvements, especially physically, compared to in previous times he has played for England. 

But there is still something missing, and he is not at the level of Test rugby right now. 

That is not to say that he can’t get there, but currently, Borthwick would be better off selecting a younger player who has a higher ceiling. 

Henry Slade 

Slade is in the same camp as Dombrandt and is another who is very lucky to be selected this summer. 

The centre has been in poor form in recent times for England, and with the new crop of youngsters coming through at centre, his international days could be numbered. 

Now 32 years old, Slade does add some experience and may be used as someone to give some advice and help to younger and more inexperienced players coming through. 

On the pitch, there are a lot of other centres who would have been good to select and give an opportunity to. 

Nick Isiekwe 

Isiekwe gets in this squad by virtue of the lack of depth at lock with George Martin injured and Ollie Chessum and Maro Itoje away with the Lions. 

Not a bad player at all, Isiekwe just isn’t Test quality and can count himself lucky to be in this squad. 

He is a physical player who gets himself about, so he could be a useful player to add a bit of physicality in the second row, but aside from that, it isn’t the most inspiring of selections. 

Losers 

Ciaran Donoghue 

This really seemed like the summer that Donoghue would get a first England cap and put an end to the doubt that he might end up representing Ireland. 

The Bath youngster is eligible for both nations but appears to favour England, so Borthwick should really have tied him down for this tour. 

A very talented player, the fly-half/fullback has burst onto the scene for Bath this year with some stellar performances on the way to helping them win the treble. 

Clearly someone with the ability to play Test rugby in future, he was unlucky to miss out. 

Adam Radwan/Ollie Hassell Collins 

As mentioned, Feyi-Waboso cannot play two of the three games, and with two of the in-form Premiership wingers missing out, they can consider themselves hugely unfortunate to miss out. 

Radwan and Hassell-Collins have both been outstanding for Leicester Tigers and were a key part in their Premiership campaign that ended with them reaching the final. 

Although they are two different players, both would have been good in the England squad and deserve a proper chance internationally. 

It is unlucky that they have been snubbed, and you have to wonder, if not now, then when? 

Afolabi Fasogbon 

Afo Fasogbon is clearly the future of the England front row, and it would have been nice to see him get recognised for his form. 

The talented youngster has been in great form for Gloucester and has an unbelievable scrummaging ability and power. 

Although he has been injured a bit this season, when he has played, he has shown a great amount of talent. 

Some young players have been left out, and it seems like this ‘development tour’ isn’t exactly that. 

Hopefully, his chance hasn’t bypassed him, as the players on this tour may overtake him in the pecking order long-term. 

By Charlie Elliott

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