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Ranking England's wing options ahead of the new season
By Josh Raisey
Steve Borthwick has many wingers to choose from heading into the 2025/26 season, with only the back-row, specifically flankers, boasting a greater level of depth in England.
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However, unlike the back-row where up to seven players could feasibly be selected in a match-day squad (in a 6-2, or a 7-1 bench split), only two wings will realistically make an England 23, possibly making them the two most fiercely contested spots on the pitch.
Had all players been fit, England could have conceivably had three wingers in Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions squad this year, rather than just the two. The combination of depth and quality means the start of the Gallagher PREM season will be pivotal for players to find their name in the Autumn Nations Series squad.
So here is what Borthwick’s hierarchy could look like heading into the new season. Even excluding players based abroad and those that are uncapped still – George Hendy is one to look out for this season – the list is vast.
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
Tommy Freeman
Even with so many options and depth, there is little to no doubt that Freeman will be in an England XV. Fresh from a British & Irish Lions series, the 24-year-old is only improving. The only reason he would not start on the wing in Borthwick’s preferred XV is if he is deployed as an outside centre.
Safe
Tom Roebuck
One of the latest additions to England’s Elite Player Squad roster, having only made his starting debut for England in the demolition of Wales at the end of the Six Nations, Roebuck will now be vying with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for a starting berth following his exploits in Argentina. It may be recency bias, but his two displays against the Pumas edge him slightly ahead of the Exeter Chief, particularly if England are to stick with his Sale Sharks club-mate George Ford at fly-half. Borthwick is yet to deploy Roebuck and Freeman on both wings, but there is no reason to suggest he will not try out that combination.
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Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
This time last year, Feyi-Waboso was a guaranteed England starter and widely tipped to make the Lions. His shoulder dramatically curtailed his progress on the Test stage, but an injury-free campaign could mean he is back wearing the England No.11 jersey come the end of the season. He has been handed an EPS contract and he will want to reignite his Test career after a return to the fold against France A and the USA, though there were signs of rustiness.
Elliot Daly
Is Daly viewed as a winger by Borthwick? His last appearance for his country, against Wales in the Six Nations, came on the wing. The week before, he started at full-back but played the majority of the match at outside centre. He was then used primarily as a full-back for the Lions before breaking his arm. After 73 England appearances, no one is too sure on the 32-year-old’s best position. All we know is he is an EPS squad member, meaning he is high up in the hierarchy.
In the mix
Will Muir
The preferred option by Borthwick in the absence of Freeman, Feyi-Waboso and Daly (and even Ollie Sleightholme) in Argentina, Muir is presumably the next cab off the rank behind England’s EPS squad members. That may be the most logical way to rank the next set of players, but it is so hotly contested that it may come down to who starts the season strongest to see who could sneak into an autumn squad.
Cadan Murley
Two eye-catching cameos from the bench against Argentina, including a try, followed by try-scoring start against the USA, helped lay to rest any demons Murley may have had after his debut against Ireland in the Six Nations. It may have helped him scorch up the pecking order as well.
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Ollie Sleightholme
This is a hard one to call. The Northampton Saint was trusted by Borthwick in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series in Feyi-Waboso’s absence. After overcoming a hamstring injury, he was then back in the squad for the Six Nations, only for an ankle injury to cut his campaign short. Another hamstring issue ruled him out of the Argentina and USA tour, where his rivals made some ground and usurped him. In such a competitive field, injuries can prove costly.
Henry Arundell
England’s wonderkid is back in the PREM and will be eager to make his way back into the national set-up. However, since he left for Racing 92 at the end of the 2023 World Cup, the 22-year-old has seen five of the seven players ahead of him on this list make their England debuts, while Freeman, who was capped, has emerged as one of England’s nailed starters, having missed out on World Cup selection. Arundell has his work cut out for him, but Bath may be the place he can impress.
Work to do
Ollie Hassell-Collins
Hassell-Collins finds himself in the same position as his Leicester Tigers team-mate Radwan – playing well for their club, put with a mountain of players ahead of them. The only reason he is ahead of Radwan on this list is that Borthwick has already picked Hassell-Collins during his tenure – two caps during the 2023 Six Nations – and, at 26, is a year younger.
Adam Radwan
Radwan’s midseason move to Leicester from Newcastle boosted his chances of making the England squad, but, despite a strong end to the season, it was still not enough to make a return for the July tour and add to his two caps. There are plenty of players ahead of him, many of whom have youth on their side. All the Tigers flyer can do is keep up the form he showed at the tail end of last season.
Joe Cokanasiga
With 16 caps to his name, Cokanasiga has had chances in an England jersey, but has never managed to kick on. At 27, he still has a chance to work his way back into the fold, but he has slipped further and further away from Test reckoning in recent years despite Bath’s resurgence.
Ollie Thorley
Gloucester’s Thorley has a cap to his name, earned in the 2020 Six Nations, so he makes this list, but he has been out of consideration for a while.
Christian Wade
Back in the PREM with Newcastle Red Bulls after a stint in rugby league and gunning for Chris Ashton’s all-time try-scoring record, but at the age of 34, his Test chances are next to zero.
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