"Six Nations Debut?" – 5 Uncapped England hopefuls who impressed this weekend

Yesterday at 11:03 AM

With England head coach Steve Borthwick set to name his squad for the 2025 Men’s Guiness Six Nations tomorrow, this past weekend was the final opportunity for the uncapped bolters to impress.

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The third round of the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup was a mixed bag for the Premiership sides, with just four wins out of the 10 matches to feature English clubs.

Borthwick will name his wider training group at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham tomorrow with the extended squad set for some winter sun out in Girona. Once again, England will undergo a pre-competition tune-up in Catalonia, before Borthwick trims down his match day squad for the trip to Dublin. England take on Ireland in the first round of the 2025 Six Nations, and the following five players all put themselves forward for contention for a Test debut upon the Emerald Isle.

1. Josh Bassett (Leicester Tigers)

It was one-way traffic for a jubilant Welford Road faithful, as Leicester Tigers put Ulster Rugby to the sword in the third round of the Champions Cup. Michael Cheika’s men were resounding winners in the bonus point victory, that finished 38-10 to the favour of the Tigers. A stand-out performance from the match was Josh Bassett, as the flying wing racked up a wonderful hat-trick against the visitors from Belfast. There were plenty of plaudits to go round, with an honourable mention also in store for Ollie Hassell-Collins, who secured a brace.

ENGLAND CHANCES: A trio of injuries to leading Premiership wingers, has propelled Josh Bassett up the rankings in line for a potential England debut this coming Six Nations. Max Malins has been absent since October, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will undergo shoulder surgery to miss the entire upcoming campaign. Now add in a recent leg injury to Gabriel Ibitoye, with the highly backed England hopeful out for six weeks, and the door has swung open at an oportune time for Josh Bassett.

Granted, the former Wasps man has to battle past the likes of Ollie Sleightholme and Tommy Freeman for a place in the match day squad, yet the noteable absentees has handed Bassett a considerable favour for a training squad involvement. The England U20s capped wing has long awaited a senior Test involvement, and a hat-trick in the final match before Borthwick names his England training squad has certainly done him some good ahead of a potential trip to Girona.

2. Harry Thacker (Bristol Bears)

Once again, Bristol Bears hooker Harry Thacker is on our shortlist for an England involvement, in the hopes of his Test match career starting better late than never. At 30-years-old, Thacker may not as much time on his side to that of his Bristol and England positional counterpart Gabriel Oghre. However, Thacker has recently been keeping Oghre at bay in his Bears duties, with a string of impressive performances in front of the Ashton Gate faithful.

Thacker was awarded the Player of the Match award for a stunning performance in Sunday’s home win against Benetton, with the long-haired hooker heavily involved in the majority of Bristol’s tries. His inch-perfect line-out throws and explosivity around the park cut through the defensive acumen of the Italian side, with key involvements in Jimmy Williams and Kieran Marmion’s scores. Thacker grabbed a try of his own before he was replaced at 67 minutes, in what was a seismic shift from the evergreen hooker.

ENGLAND CHANCES: With Steve Borthwick backing his England captain Jamie George for another tournament as skipper, there will be little shifting the Saracen from the starting two jersey. The latest Autumn Nations Series showcased Luke Cowan-Dickie as the next in line to the starting shirt, with Theo Dan leapfrogged as November progressed. An injury could well open up an opportunity for Thacker to step up, and he could well surpass Oghre to be the fourth hooker to reinforce the ranks of the wider training squad.

3. Joe Owen (Bristol Bears)

Keeping it with Bristol Bears for the time being, and lock Joe Owen once again staked his claim for an England involvement, as his stock continues to rise out in the West Country. Alongside his namesake lock Joe Batley, Owen has been one of Bristol’s breakout stars throughout the past season and a half, as Pat Lam called an early end to his loan with Championship side Hartpury University mid way through the 2023/24 season.

Owen was excellent in the hard-fought Champions Cup win over Benetton, and adapted brilliantly to an early change in the script. A seventh minute ankle injury to Joe Batley forced a re-shuffle in the engine room, with Steele Barker flung into the action early in the first half. Owen responded well with a solid set-piece effort alongside his new second row partner, with his black scrum cap also repeatedly seen amongst the Benetton and Bristolian boots when the going got tough.

ENGLAND CHANCES: A returning Ollie Chessum has thrown a question mark into the mix, as to how Steve Borthwick will lay out his second row for the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations. Chessum has been utilised as both a lock and back row forward for England, as has his Leicester Tigers teammate George Martin. Nonetheless, Maro Itoje remains at the top of the locking order, with the most that Joe Owen could hope for being a bolter’s call up to bolster the training group.

An in-form Charlie Ewels has stepped in for an injured Alex Coles, with Nick Isiekwe always in the mix for a match-day squad call-up. Also throw in Exeter Rus Tuima as a potential debutant following recent Summer camp training with the squad, and there is a whole host of options for Borthwick to chose between for the upcoming tournament.

4. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)

Ojomoh was on the fringes of an England debut as recently as the 2024 Six Nations, having been in and around the squad since the Eddie Jones era. Ojomoh’s first experience of the England camp was all the way back in 2021, yet a bumpy road of injuries have hindered his momentum to establish himself upon the Test match scene. His latest outing whilst wearing the rose came in an exhibition England A match against Portugal in February 2024, which saw him cross over for a try in the one-sided win.

The midfielder was in scintillating form, as Bath breathed new life into their Champions Cup campaign with a win over Clermont Auvergne. Ojomoh burst the hosts into the match, as he muscled his way over the French side’s gain-line, with England head coach Steve Borthwick watching on at the Rec. Ojomoh was involved in the lead up to Tom de Glanville’s score, before expertly collected Finn Russell’s chip kick to set-up his side’s third try of the match.

ENGLAND CHANCES: This could well be the year in which we see an England debut for Max Ojomoh, after his previous efforts to break into the Test match scene were curtailed by untimely injuries. A complimenting partner to his Bath midfield counterpart Ollie Lawrence, Ojomoh knows his blue, black and white teammate on a telepathic level, which could certainly play to his advantage should Henry Slade get ruled out of action. We expect an England training squad involvement to capitalise on the hot form.

5. Jack Clement (Gloucester Rugby)

Rounding off our short-list of last-ditch debutants is Gloucester back row Jack Clement, who rose to the occasion for the Cherry and Whites’ Challenge Cup win. Gloucester recorded an impressive 31-7 win over the Scarlets to further build momentum in European rugby’s secondary competition, with George Skivington’s side eager to return to the final, and do one better than their runners-up effort of the 2023/24 season.

Braving the cold for Ruck down at Kingsholm Stadium on Friday night, was reporter Matt Priest, who scored Clement an 8/10 in his match day Player Ratings. “Clement is a force to be reckoned with, got on the scoresheet again tonight to add to his growing tally for the season, a pair of turnovers and a handful of strong carries sees Clement once again stand out as a great talent. There is a lot of competition in the back row for England, but with form like this I struggle to see how Steve Borthwick can leave him out of his Six Nations squad.”

ENGLAND CHANCES: As Matt Priest mentioned, there is an abundance of in form back row forwards occupying England ranks at the current moment. To rattle of a list of names reads as a back-row shopping list for any top flight club, with the likes of Ben Earl, Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill and the Curry twins all flying in form.

Now add into the mix a meteoric eight-man in Saracens’ Tom Willis, and the space for places becomes increasingly thin for Jack Clement to occupy. The Gloucester man could feel hard done by to not be named by Borthwick in tomorrow’s announcement, yet an injury could always open the door for a later England camp experience.

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