Northern | US

Caluori and BJVR two of seven uncapped players in 42-man England squad


Benhard Janse van Rensburg of Bristol Bears celebrates victory following the Gallagher PREM match between Harlequins and Bristol Bears at Allianz Stadium on December 20, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Comments
19 Comments

Steve Borthwick has named seven uncapped players in his 42-man England squad for their three-day camp at England’s Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park this week.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Gallagher PREM’s leading try-scorer this season, 19-year-old Noah Caluori, headlines the list of uncapped players in the squad, which will assemble on Monday afternoon in preparation for the Nations Championship, which will begin for England against South Africa at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park on July 4.

The winger is joined by another uncapped Saracen in the squad, 22-year-old Charlie Bracken, who has established himself as the club’s starting No.9 in recent weeks. He is one of five scrum-halves in the squad, with Northampton Saints’ uncapped 21-year-old Archie McParland also getting the nod after sharing plenty of game time with England and British & Irish Lions No.9 Alex Mitchell – who has also made the squad – in recent weeks.

VIDEO

With looseheads Fin Baxter and Bevan Rodd unavailable for selection, Emmanuel Iyogun will be Saints’ second uncapped player in the squad.

On the other side of the scrum, 21-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour is back in the squad after missing the Guinness Six Nations with a shoulder injury. However, with Will Stuart still injured and England’s back-up tighthead during the Six Nations, Trevor Davison, out for the season with a knee injury, Bath’s uncapped 21-year-old tighthead Billy Sela has been included.

Fixture
Nations Championship
South Africa
08:40
4 Jul 26
England
All Stats and Data

Sela will be joined in camp by his fellow Bath front-rower, hooker Kepu Tuipulotu. The 20-year-old will join Theo Dan, Jamie George and Jamie Blamire as the four available hookers, with Luke Cowan-Dickie in camp for rehabilitation as he recovers from a broken wrist.

The final uncapped player in the squad is Bristol Bears centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg. The former South Africa U20 international becomes eligible for England on residency grounds from July 8, meaning he will be unavailable for the clash with the nation of his birth, but will be an option for Borthwick for the following matches against Fiji and Argentina.

ADVERTISEMENT

PREM leaders Northampton have the most players in the squad, with nine, followed by Leicester Tigers and Saracens, who will both offer seven players each.

After long absences on the Test stage, a handful of Tigers players have been rewarded for their form this season with call-ups, with Blamire, Adam Radwan and George Martin all included. Lock Martin has hit the ground running after making his return to action last month, after 14 months on the sidelines as a result of knee and shoulder injuries.

Radwan’s return has come at the expense of Bath wing Henry Arundell, who is fresh from scoring four tries against Newcastle Red Bulls at the weekend. Arundell is not the only Bath player who will be disappointed at missing out, with centre Max Ojomoh also absent from the squad. While several members of the Six Nations squad are missing, the Bath duo are the only fit and available players omitted.

Their Bath team-mate, the 38-cap Ollie Lawrence, whose Six Nations game time was limited due to injury, is another big name to be overlooked.

ADVERTISEMENT

England training squad

Forwards
Jamie Blamire (Leicester Tigers)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby)
Kepu Tuipulotu (Bath Rugby)

Backs
Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)
Charlie Bracken (Saracens)
Noah Caluori (Saracens)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears)
Archie McParland (Northampton Saints)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Adam Radwan (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)

Rehabilitation: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)

Not considered for selection: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Will Muir (Bath Rugby), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)

Related

RugbyPass App Download

News, stats, live rugby and more! Download the new RugbyPass app on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!


Whether you’re looking for somewhere to track upcoming fixtures, a place to watch live rugby or an app that shows you all of the latest news and analysis, the RugbyPass rugby app is perfect.

ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

19 Comments
D
DH 32 days ago

Given the amount of injuries/tiredness not surprised at the selection . Ojomoh missing a bit of a shock bur the inclusion of BJVT a risk very worth taking giving England the possible missing piece over the last 2 years or so. Pressure on him but he will handle it very well I think ( big Fan of his playing style and authority).

we will soon see for ourselves. Good Luck England

Borthwick okay on this one

r
rJ 33 days ago

For a long time I’ve thought Borthwick does not understand back play. Radwan the fastest man in English rugby has finally been recognised. now Ojomoh the best current inside centre England is ignired. Bath seems to be out of favour.

M
Mark 33 days ago

Some very odd inclusions and exclusions in this squad!!

B
Bhobson 33 days ago

Some key players missing, although no expectations with Borthwick. He will be found out eventually hopefully sooner rather than later.

u
unknown 33 days ago

That’s not the best squad that could’ve been picked with players available. Borthwick is useless and continues to hold England back.

U
Uther 33 days ago

At scrum half and considering the current form of players, I would pick :

1. Mc Parland

2. Bracken


Those 2 kids are absolutely fantastic. I know that club games are not the same level as test rugby but it’s the perfect timing to test them at this level.

A
AA 33 days ago

Unfortunately, Lawrence is injury prone and it’s not practical to keep picking him after yet another layoff .

It worries me that Borthwick has not fully learned his lesson that the kick chase is dead .

Why Ford ????

He definitly will not play again with the 2 Smiths there and the kick chase will have to be employed for him to play as his danger with ball in hand is nowhere to be seen .

If Ford makes the final squad then expect more kick chase .

Fingers crossed Borthwick has really changed his spots .

f
fl 33 days ago

“He definitly will not play again...

If Ford makes the final squad then expect more kick chase .”


It is impossible for you to formulate a coherent thought!


P.S. Lawrence has played 31 times for Borthwick in the 45 matches that Borthwick has coached England for. He’s a lot more reliable than you give him credit.

u
unknown 33 days ago

I think BJVR is a good player but I do think Ojomoh offers more creativity which is something we need in the centres if we are to play a more attacking brand of rugby which I think is the way things are going. Not sure if that’s Borthwick’s style though unfortunately. Where’s Ollie Lawrence in this squad either, not mentioned as injured or anything? A bit odd?

f
fl 33 days ago

It looks like Lawrence is dropped, which is frankly bizarre.


He’s a very similar player to BJVR, with the exception that (1) he’s younger, (2) he’s an established part of the England team, & (3) he’s proven that he can perform in test rugby.

C
CM 33 days ago

Isiewke, Slade and Ford, my goodness England are doomed with Borthwick’s selection of limited talent players.

f
fl 33 days ago

Fasogbon will feel a bit hard done by, but its good to see Borthwick put his faith in Sela, who has always been my preferred option.

f
fl 33 days ago

Very impressive depth. Just a shame all the talent is going to be squandered!


Calouri in the squad is not a big surprise given he’s been in squads before.


BJVR probably isn’t fast enough for test rugby, so its a shame to see him included at the expense of Max Ojomoh. It was crazy seeing people (NB on here, Tim from Eggchasers) speculating that Atkinson would be dropped to make room for van Rensberg. Whatever Borthwick’s thoughts are regarding van Rensberg, Atkinson’s place in the squad clearly isn’t in question.

J
JS 33 days ago

Atkinson was so poor against Sarries and was outplayed by Hartley. He seems to have a lot of credit in the bank and Ojomoh none.

Slade ahead of Lawrence is hard to understand even if you wanted to select Van Rensberg.

Load More Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Copied to clipboard

Share Article close