The glowing Noah Caluori verdict made by England team-mate in pre-season

The newest member of Steve Borthwick’s England squad, 19-year-old Saracens wing Noah Caluori, was astutely flagged by his club and country team-mate Nick Isiekwe pre-season as a player to look out for, it has been revealed.

Caluori has enjoyed a meteoric rise this season, which started with him making his first Gallagher PREM appearance in September, to now being a member of Borthwick’s 36-man squad for the Autumn Nations Series.

In the latest episode of the Stick to Rugby podcast, Isiekwe’s pre-season chat with Tom Shanklin and Scott Quinnell was shared, where he was asked to highlight the players who were looking sharp before the season had started.

Isiekwe immediately namechecked Clauori, presciently saying, “his aerial work is not something I’ve seen before.”

Just weeks later, the teenager was producing a five-try performance against Sale Sharks, where his aerial supremacy was laid bare for all to see.

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“Who’s been looking sharp in pre-season?” Isiekwe said. “Noah. Young, Noah. He’s obviously a young player; he hasn’t got it all worked out, he’ll have a lot of stuff to work out, but he’s looking good. His aerial work is not something I’ve seen before.”

“This lad is something else under the high ball. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

The lock added, “hopefully he gets a run out in the coming weeks,” which he of course did, and now joins him in the England set-up.

Isiekwe himself also assessed his own England hopes in the interview, saying he was focusing on helping Saracens rebound from a disappointing season, then “if I do well enough to be able to play for England, then that will happen, but it’s out of my hands.”

The 27-year-old has indeed found himself back in the England fold, perhaps aided by injuries to George Martin and Ted Hill, but has not been included in the squad that will take on Australia at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday.