Assessing England's depth chart at full-back: 7 players vying for one shirt

For two decades, from the late 90s through to the Covid era, between them Matt Perry and Mike Brown dominated the England full-back jersey, give or take a short gap between one handing over the No.15 baton to the other.

Brown overtook Perry’s record 35 caps at full-back in 2016 and then doubled the Bath legend’s tally of England appearances before his days as an international came to an end in 2018.

While some of Brown’s caps were won on the wing, there is no disputing that both he and Perry (once capped at centre) were out-and-out specialist fullbacks, the type of player that perhaps England are desperately short of beyond the current incumbents.

Leicester’s Freddie Steward was that man, having enjoyed a run of 27 starts at full-back in a 28-game spell between his debut against the USA in 2021 and RWC 2023, and could be again, but seems to fall in and out of favour under Steve Borthwick.

Northampton captain George Furbank became the go-to full-back for a while, but the Harlequins-bound player has been dogged by injury and misfortune and will sit out the remainder of the southern hemisphere series of the inaugural Nations Championship after having had his appendix removed.

Thankfully, for England, Steward seems likely to overcome the ankle injury that forced him to miss last weekend’s 45-21 hiding by South Africa and play his part against Fiji this Saturday.

But his recent injury track record and the fact that Furbank has now been flown home, makes you wonder who’s next in line.

Using hybrid players such as Elliot Daly and Marcus Smith has been a commonplace policy, but there is something reassuring about a good, old-fashioned 15 soaring into the air and claiming a high ball and then punting it 50 metres downfield.

Trouble is, England aren’t exactly spoilt for choice when you look at the list of players Oval Insights categorise with full-back as their normal position.

Only seven English-qualified players made more than five starts at 15 in the Prem last season, with Steward top of the lot in terms of game time.

Steward appeared in 17 of Leicester’s 19 league games, clocking up 1,317 minutes in an exciting back three containing wings Ollie Hassel-Collins and Adam Radwan.

The only other player to get into four figures in terms of game time was Prem title winner, George Hendy, who has become more of a hybrid back-three player than a specialist full-back. Needless to say, though, the Northampton man looks more than capable of doing a job for England at 15.

As for the other English-qualified players, Tom de Glanville is next, despite having to compete with Bath summer signing Santi Carreras in his favoured position.

As good a player as he is for his boyhood club, De Glanville looks destined to never be capped; he is probably the closest that the Prem has to a Mike Brown but maybe lacks a bit of ‘x-factor’.

Joe Carpenter’s star has risen and fallen in line with Sale Sharks’ nosedive in performances, while the conversation about Tyrone Green’s eligibility for England has gone quiet given Harlequins’ troubles and frailties in defence.

A one-time star of England U20s, Test rugby seems to have bypassed Josh Hodge, who moved from Exeter to Newcastle in mid-season, while Rich Lane and Elliott Obatoyinbo have been let go by their respective clubs, Bristol and Newcastle, and probably haven’t been given a second thought by Borthwick.

Bath’s Ciaran Donoghue, who qualifies for both England and Ireland, appears to have all the raw ingredients to be a top-level player, but spent most of last season on the sidelines with injury and his future seems to lay at 10, which leaves Northampton’s precocious young talent James Pater, who made his Prem debut whilst still at school, as the only other viable candidate.

England U20 international Pater only made one Prem start at 15 last season, but with Furbank having now left the club, next season could be a big one for him to press forward his claims.

English-qualified Prem ‘full-backs’ 2025/26:*

1. Freddie Steward (Leicester) – 1317 mins, 17 apps (17)
2. George Hendy (Northampton) – 1060 mins, 16 apps (8)
3. Tom de Glanville (Bath) – 926 mins, 13 apps (12)
4. George Furbank (Northampton) – 793 mins, 11 apps (10)
5. Joe Carpenter (Sale Sharks) – 790 mins, 12 apps (12)
6. Josh Hodge (Exeter/Newcastle) – 551 mins, 8 apps (7)
7. Tyrone Green (Harlequins) – 440 mins, 7 apps (6)

*still contracted to a Prem club and min 5 starts at full-back (in brackets)