Ranking England's full-back options ahead of the new season

England have gone through their share of full-backs over the past year for a variety of reasons.

Steve Borthwick may not be blessed with the depth in this position that he has elsewhere on the field, but what he does have is a group of full-backs that are stylistically different to each other, and the No.15 he uses has often been indicative of the tactics England will employ.

So here is what England’s full-back hierarchy may look like with the new Gallagher PREM season just days away.

The players will be ranked in four tiers: ‘locked in’ – those not only guaranteed to make an England squad, but very likely to start, ‘safe’ – those expected to make a wider England squad, but will by vying for a bench spot, ‘in the mix’ – those who could make their way into Borthwick’s wider squad with a strong start to the season, and ‘work to do’ – those who are capped but largely out of contention currently.

Locked in

George Furbank 
Hasn’t played a minute for England in 2025 due to injury, but there was a sense that Borthwick was experimenting with different options while he waited for the Saints star to return. Despite missing so much Test rugby, he was still one of the 25 players awarded an enhanced Elite Player Squad (EPS) contract. It would be surprising if he wasn’t wearing the No.15 shirt in England’s first game against Australia in November.

Safe

Marcus Smith
This will always prove divisive, but come the end of the Six Nations this year, Smith was the preferred full-back for England in Furbank’s absence. Andy Farrell wasn’t afraid to deploy the Harlequin in the back-three for the Lions either. This will always be a controversial one for England and Quins fans, but the reality is that Smith’s transition to full-back, or at least a utility back, is going to continue.

Elliot Daly
While Smith started at full-back for the final game of the Six Nations against Wales, Daly was handed the jersey for the penultimate match, with the 26-year-old on the bench. This match was against Italy at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, so the coaching staff may have earmarked this match as an opportunity to experiment. Nevertheless, the Saracen is still viewed as an option at the back, and he was in a rich vein of form there for the Lions in Australia before breaking his arm.

In the mix

Freddie Steward 
The 38-cap Steward will add more caps to his name, but his absence in the EPS is telling. He enjoyed a positive summer, adding more layers to his game against Argentina, and that’s clearly what Borthwick wants from him. The Leicester Tiger’s aerial supremacy will never be doubted, but he needs to continue adding more strings to his attacking bow.

Joe Carpenter
A debutant against the USA in the summer, and an accomplished debut at that, the 24-year-old Sale Sharks star is on Borthwick’s radar, but will need a barnstorming start to the season if he is going to catch up with the others on this list if they remain fit. Even with injuries, the fact that he failed to make Borthwick’s recent 36-man training squad reflects where he stands.

Work to do

Henry Arundell
Back in contention again after returning to England this season with Bath after almost two years in France with Racing 92. But the back-three landscape has changed dramatically since the 22-year-old last ran out for England at the 2023 World Cup. Whether he will be on the wing or full-back, there’s stiff competition ahead of him.

Max Malins
Another player who last featured for England at the World Cup. The only difference is that Malins has continued to ply his trade in England since then. In all fairness, he has been hampered by injuries, chiefly a ruptured Achilles tendon last season, which has seen him plummet down the pecking order. The 28-year-old returned to Saracens this summer, where he made his breakthrough and played his best rugby, and will hope the move will revive his Test career.