England head coach Steve Borthwick has told Sky Sports Owen Farrell is concentrating on playing for Saracens in the Prem for now, but adds he is watching all eligible English players.
Farrell, who is now eligible to play for England again having returned to Saracens following a year with Racing 92 in France, was not included in Borthwick’s squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.
The 34-year-old returned to Test rugby for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup during the summer, appearing for the British and Irish Lions in their 2-1 series win over Australia.
Farrell stepped away from international rugby following the 2023 World Cup citing a need to focus on his and his family’s mental well-being, but confirmed to Sky Sports in June that he was “not retired” from England selection.
“Owen has gone out quite publicly and said a number of times that for right now, it’s just to get back to playing rugby back in England, enjoying his rugby after a difficult year injury wise last season,” Borthwick told Sky Sports.
Owen Farrell is concentrating on playing for Saracens in the Prem for now, England’s Steve Borthwick has told Sky Sports
“We’re only a handful of games into this season, so I don’t think that’s a discussion for right now.
“I’m delighted with the players that are here and the exciting depth of talent we have.
“My attitude to these kind of situations is that the door is never closed. As far as I’m concerned, I’m watching every English player playing.
“What I would say is, there’s a lot of very good players in the squad right now. Players that I am enjoying working with.”
Farrell returned to play Test rugby for the first time since 2023 with the British and Irish Lions in the summer
‘Willis still eligible, but we are prioritising players who will be involved at 2027 World Cup’
Saracens No 8 Tom Willis made headlines this week when it was confirmed he would be departing to play in France’s Top 14 again at the end of the current season, thus making himself ineligible for England Test selection.
Willis – whose brother Jack already plays in France with Toulouse – played in all five of England’s 2025 Six Nations fixtures, and started both of the summer’s Tests vs Argentina too.
While he remains eligible for this season, the 26-year-old was left out of England’s squad for this Autumn.
“Players all have decisions to make, and a player of his quality is clearly wanted and in demand from many different clubs,” Borthwick said.
Tom Willis featured seven times for England in 2025 but has been left out after news he is departing to play in France next season
“I think from my point of view, Tom told me his decision, it sounds like he’s agonised over that decision for some time. He spoke about it being a very difficult decision.
“He told me some of the reasons why in a private conversation, and I wished him well. My focus is very much upon the squad we were bringing together on Sunday and the direction we go in now.
“I think everybody would agree with me that the direction should be investing all that time in players who are going to be involved and part of England’s desire to win the World Cup in two years’ time.
“Every minute of our training, every minute of our coaching, every minute in a Test match needs to be devoted to those players.”
Caluori Test debut this November? ‘It’s possible’
Saracens’ 19-year-old wing Noah Caluori stunned the rugby world on Saturday when he scored five tries against Sale Sharks on his Prem debut.
Such a performance led to calls for his inclusion with England this November despite his lack of experience, and Sunday brought confirmation Caluori has joined the squad as a development player.
Borthwick revealed to Sky Sports the youngster may yet get a taste of the Test arena:
“He’s a player who’s been on the radar for some time, coming through the England pathway system. I think everyone’s known there’s an exciting talent there.
“All the information that has been fed to me from the England pathway coaches, Conor O’Shea, Mark Mapletoft, is there’s some good young players coming in, he’s one of them.
“I think then the rate of his development has accelerated over these last number of months. That’s great credit to him and great credit to the club.
“That’s always important, those first steps when you’re in an international environment, because there’s no doubt it is different to a club environment. I think he already has respect for him, the ability and talent he has.
“I think it’s certainly a possibility [he plays for England this November]. I think if you start looking at the number of options we have on the wing, there’s some good players in that position.
“There’s a lot of depth developing across many positions, which gives me the kind of problems you really want to have as a head coach. When you start picking a team and you’re picking good players, you’re leaving good players out as well.”
England’s training squad ahead of Autumn Nations Series
Forwards
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Emeka Ilione (Leicester Tigers)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)
Backs
Henry Arundell (Bath Rugby)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks)
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)
In addition, as part of a development agreement with Saracens, Noah Caluori, will join the squad for training.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
