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Autumn Nations Series

England squad update puts Bath prop in Test comeback territory

BAGSHOT, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: Steve Borthwick, Head Coach of England during the England training session at Pennyhill Park on October 27, 2025 in Bagshot, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Beno Obano’s hopes of a first England cap have been boosted following his inclusion in the 36-man squad preparing for Saturday’s international against Fiji.

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The Bath prop, who recently turned 31, won the last of his four caps away to Italy in the 2024 Six Nations.

Obano and uncapped Northampton lock Tom Lockett are the new faces in the squad that has assembled at Pennyhill Park as England look to exact revenge on Fiji for beating them the last time the sides met at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in 2023.

While Obano and Lockett have been called up by Steve Borthwick, Bath centre Max Ojomoh and Saracens’ wonder kid, Noah Caluori, have dropped out, possibly with the England A vs All Blacks XV fixture in mind.

England A take on the All Blacks at The Rec in Bath on the same day that the senior side face Fiji.

The updated England squad:

Forwards
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Jack Kenningham (Harlequins)
Tom Lockett (Northampton Saints)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)

Backs
Henry Arundell (Bath Rugby)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)

Rehabilitation: Elliot Daly (Saracens), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).


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Comments

2 Comments
N
Neil 30 days ago

Where is George Furbank in the overall scheme of things?

P
PMcD 32 days ago

Nothing new here, looks like they wanted 3 sets of front rows for more normal scrum practice and Lockett providing some injury cover.


Expect they will maintain the reverse front row as they manage the game time of the returning Lions for NZ.

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As for point 2.. it's a tricky one, I don't want to slander a nation here. I'm no “Bok hater”, but I've gotta say some Bok fans are the most obnoxious fans I've personally encountered. Notably this didn't seem to be a problem until the Boks became the best in the world. I agree that fans from other nations can be awful too, every nation has it's fair share of d-heads but going on any rugby forum or YouTube comments is quite tedious these days owing to the legions of partisan Bok fans who jump onto every thread regardless of if it's about the Boks to tell everyone how much better the Boks are than everyone else. A Saffa once told me that SA is a troubled country and because of that the Boks are a symbol of SA victory against all odds so that's why the fans are so passionate. At least you recognise that there is an issue with some Bok fans, that's more than many are willing to concede. Whatever the reason, it's just boring is all I can tell you and I can say coming from a place of absolute honesty I encounter far, far more arrogance and obnoxious behaviour from Bok fans than any other fanbase - the kiwis were nothing like this when they were on top. So look much love to SA, I bear no hatred of ill will, I just want to have conversations about rugby without being told constantly that the Boks are the best team in the world and all coaches except Rassie are useless etc



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PMcD 2 hours ago
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Ben 2 hours ago
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