The staggering 8-day rise of Noah Caluori into the England squad

Having seen Henry Pollock skyrocket through the ranks of European rugby over the past year, England fans may have grown slightly accustomed to rising stars taking the game by storm. But Noah Caluori may be about to blow the flanker’s startling career trajectory out of the water.

Saracens’ 19-year-old sensation will join Steve Borhtwick’s England squad for training this week, having been selected a day after his five-try performance against Sale Sharks in the Gallagher PREM. Just eight days before, he was running out for Ampthill in Champ Rugby, England’s second division.

Life has come at the teenager fast, and given the past two weeks he has experienced, the possibility of an England cap in November cannot be dismissed.

Like Pollock, Caluori made his PREM debut as an 18-year-old. That match was a try-scoring debut from the bench in round one of this season against Newcastle Red Bulls, before another appearance from the bench a week later against Bristol Bears.

However, the England U20 international found himself making his debut for Ampthill a week later, scoring two tries in a man of the match 26-21 victory over Cornish Pirates. That is some 8 days for the wing.

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Double try-scorer Noah Caluori got the coaches vote for the @poretti_uk Man of the Match sponsored by @carlsbergbritvic 🍻

Well played Noah and thanks to Carlsberg Britvic for their ongoing support 🙏#Ampthill #TheMob #ChampRugby pic.twitter.com/Vgc4OGavhO

— Ampthill Rugby (@AmpthillRufc) October 11, 2025

Where Pollock had to wait well over a year to be called into a Borthwick squad after making his PREM debut in November 2023 (he did represent England A in November 2023), Caluori has waited little over a month.

Circumstances are, of course, different. Pollock is a forward, perhaps making it slightly harder for a teenager to establish themself. But both players operate in the two most stacked areas of the field in English rugby, the back-row and on the wing.

Pollock’s rise after his first England call-up continued. He made his debut against Wales in the Six Nations, was nominated for 2025 EPCR player of the year and was selected for the British & Irish Lions. The bar has been set by the flanker when it comes to meteoric rises, but Caluori is on course to beat it.

He may have scored a brace in Champ Rugby, but the decision to loan the 6ft 4in wing to Ampthill was surely a simple byproduct of him being surplus to requirements for that week, the loss against Harlequins, and to ensure he still had game time under his belt, rather than any long-term plan to leave him out of the squad. The fact that Saracens’ game plan largely revolved around his astonishing aerial supremacy is an indication that he is at the forefront of Mark McCall’s plans for the season ahead.

Borthwick may be hatching similar schemes soon.