"Out for the Entirety" – England's 2025 Six Nations Squad: 'Makers & Breakers' as uncapped duo called up and big names dropped

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England head coach Steve Borthwick named his squad for the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations this morning, with the 36-man group penned in at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. The immediate top line sees an end to Jamie George’s run as England captain, with his Saracens teammate Maro Itoje taking up the reins for the upcoming competition.

There has been plenty of speculation that this change was coming, given how the 2024 Summer tour and Autumn Nations Series played out with the England hooker at the helm. George would depart the pitch in the second half having emptied the tank, with his side capitulating for an eventual defeat in the closing stages of the match.

Question marks were raised regarding the need for a captain who plays the full 80, with such a pattern of late-collapses witnessed in the two-match Test series against New Zealand, and again in the home defeat to the All Blacks in November. The pattern continued in Autumn defeats to Australia and South Africa, with Itoje now taking up the mantle to be an 80-minute skipper.

Throughout the England squad, there are plenty of players who have either made the grade, or failed to secure a spot in the wider training group. Here are the five ‘Make and Break’ players from the latest England squad announcement.

MAKERS: 1. CADAN MURLEY (Harlequins)

The first of two uncapped players called up by Steve Borthwick, Harlequins wing Cadan Murley will be hoping to make the short trip from the Twickenham Stoop to the Allianz Stadium for an England debut in the upcoming competition. Murley has been in and around the England camp since Borthwick first took over from Eddie Jones, as the wing hit electric form as the 2022/23 Premiership’s top try scorer.

Murley was included in the wider training squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, yet was unable to book himself a place for France as England returned as eventual bronze medalists. The 25-year-old has once again been in hot form for the Londoners this season, with nine tries to his name in eleven appearances in the famous quarters. A shoulder injury to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has forced Borthwick to cast his eye across the Premiership’s top wings, with Bristol flyer Gabriel Ibitoye set to recover from injury within the England squad environment.

MAKERS: 2. OSCAR BEARD (Harlequins)

Sticking with the called up Quins, and Oscar Beard is back in the England camp with his sights set on a long awaited Test match debut. The versatile back-line player was initially included in the 36-man squad for the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, yet was unable to progress any further than the training squad for last year’s Championship. The 23-year-old earned international honours with England A this past November, as he ran out for the full 80 minutes in the win over Australia A, in Beard’s own back yard of the Stoop.

For Harlequins, Beard has been in solid form once again this season, with head coach Danny Wilson predominently unleashing his man in the outside centre channel. However, Beard’s ability to also slot in on the wing adds an extra string to his bow, that Borthwick can catapult onto the pitch from a utility role in the 23 shirt. Beard faces tough competition for a Test match start in the centres, with Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade the first choice midfielders throughout 2024. However, the future bodes well for Beard as he is called into the squad once again, and is once more included ahead of Bath’s Max Ojomoh.

MAKERS: 3 TOM WILLIS (Saracens)

Having been in barnstorming form for Saracens this season, England fans are delighted to see Tom Willis named in the 36-man squad for the 2025 Men’s Six Nations. Willis has had a real resurgence of form in the 2024/25 Premiership campaign, after a lengthy injury lay off curtailed his return to England after a season with Bordeaux-Begles, following the financial collapse of Wasps. Willis has been collecting plenty of Player of the Match medals this season, as the first choice number eight for Mark McCall’s men.

Willis’ involvement in the squad raises questions as to how Steve Borthwick will unleash both him and Ben Earl in the upcoming competition. Willis and Earl have been a cohesive unit in the Saracens back row, with Earl playing the majority of his club matches on the flanks, whilst Willis takes the lead in the eight jersey. This differs from how Earl is utilised as England’s number eight, with a potential shuffling of the England back row in store if Borthwick aims to unleash both of his bruisers from North London.

MAKERS 4: GABRIEL IBITOYE (Bristol Bears)

The fourth man who’s made the grade for the 2025 Six Nations, despite some question marks regarding his fitness is Gabriel Ibitoye. The Bristol Bears wing has been named as a rehabilitation player in Borthwick’s wider training squad, in the hopes that he overcomes his leg injury towards the latter stages of the competition. Ibitoye was initially handed a six-week spell on the side-lines after sustaining the knock earlier this month, with the door still open ajar for the former Harlequins wing.

Whilst Ibitoye will not feature for the first half of the competition at the least, the fact that he has been included in the squad bodes well for his future in Borthwick’s plans. Ibitoye has enjoyed a tremendous run of form so far in the Premiership, with the October Player of the Month award encapsulating his purple-patch. The wing depth chart has dwindled in the absence of Manny Feyi-Waboso, who is set to undergo a shoulder operation and miss the entirety of the upcoming Six Nations. Should Ibitoye make a comeback in time for the final few rounds of the tournament in March, the flyer could well return to Ashton Gate a newly capped England squad member.

MAKERS 5: BEVAN RODD (Sale Sharks)

Borthwick has shaken up the tight-head ranks in 2025, with no place for veteran prop Dan Cole in the entire wider training squad. This opens up the door for Bevan Rodd, as the Sale Sharks man eyes up a return to the England squad after an injury kept him out of action throughout the Autumn Nations Series. Rodd succumbed to tendinopathy in his foot, as a result of an overuse injury that could have been the result of an intial scrummaging issue.

However, the prop is now back in the England squad, and is looking to win his first Test cap since England’s Summer tour of Japan and New Zealand. An honourable mention is in store for Gloucester prop Afolabi Fasogbon, who despite being injured for the 2025 Six Nations, has been named to complete his rehabilitation within the England camp. Rodd has been joined by Joe Heyes and Will Stuart to compete for the three jersey, with a new look front row in store for the upcoming competition.

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