"Steal from Wales" – 5 Uncapped England Hopefuls who Impressed this weekend ahead of 2025 Guinness Six Nations

01/06/2025 10:36 AM

We are officially on the road to the 2025 Guinness Six Nations, with the chimes of the New Year ringing in the excitement of Rugby’s Greatest Championship. The tournament gets underway across the first weekend of February, with England tasked with an opening round trip to Dublin, for a battle with back-to-back Six Nations champions Ireland.

This past weekend brought about the first on-field action of 2025, with the Premiership at it’s regular full pelt as it rolled into it’s 10th round of the season. England head coach Steve Borthwick would have been scouring the squads, throughout the latest round of the English top flight, as he begins to piece together his wider training group for the upcoming competition.

Borthwick is set to name his wider England training group on Tuesday 14th January at the Allianz Stadium, before the team jets off to Girona for a fortnight’s worth of pre-competition training. The following five uncapped England hopefuls all impressed throughout the latest round of the Gallagher Premiership, and Borthwick could well keep an eye on any one of the quintet, as he prepares to pen in his players, who all have eyes on being a name for the plane to Spain.

1. Jack Kenningham (Harlequins)

Harlequins back row battler Jack Kenningham was excellent upon his recent trip up North, as the Londoners ended their four-match wait for a win in the Premiership. Quins put Newcastle Falcons to the sword in the 38-14 away victory, with Kenningham taking a starring role with blistering work on both sides of the ball. The blindside flanker stepped up to make some clattering hits in the absence of Chandler Cunningham-South, with Kenningham also showing tremendous ability to win penalties at the breakdown.

England’s number six shirt has been held down by Cunningham-South since the Summer tour, with the Harlequin only relinquishing the starting spot in England’s easier Autumn encounter against Japan. Kenningham is certainly chomping at the heels of his Harlequins counterpart for the starting role in the famous quarters, but with the likes of the Curry brothers, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl all viable options to run out on the blindiside, Kenningham has quite the queue ahead of him before Borthwick could give him the nod. Nonetheless, a physical workhorse like Kenningham could well bolster the training squad, and the hard work could well pay off for a replacement debut against Italy or Wales.

2. Tommy Wyatt (Exeter Chiefs)

This is by no means the first time that we have sung the praises of Tommy Wyatt, and pinned the Exeter Chiefs man as a potential star of England’s back-line. The 25-year-old possesses an excellent array of versatility across the backs, with Wyatt comfortable across the midfield and in the back-three. Exeter have most recently been utilising their man out on the left wing, as he forms an exhilarating England inspired axis with outside centre Henry Slade.

Slade and Wyatt combined for two tries against Leicester Tigers, with Slade garnering two assists for the wide-man’s brace. The West Country links were out in full flow against Michael Cheika’s side, with the former Plymouth Albion and Cornish Pirates players carving through the Tigers back-line. It’s no secret that England currently implore a defensive ‘blitz’ system, that is similar to the way Exeter Chiefs defend. Slade and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso have been enjoying the symbiotic defensive structures between club and country, and Wyatt could well join them as he continues on in such strong form.

3. Olly Cracknell (Leicester Tigers)

When you are praised as “one of the best back-rowers in the game”, you begin to turn the heads of international selectors. Leicester Tigers eight-man Olly Cracknell was called just that by his head coach Michael Cheika, after he collected the Player of the Match Award from the clash at Welford Road. Cracknell was highly influential in the Tigers’ 28-15 triumph, and Steve Borthwick will have to act fast to secure the services of the 33-year-old.

Cracknell is eligible to play for both England and Wales thanks to his ancestry, with the number eight well versed in the style of rugby across the River Severn. Cracknell has enjoyed two stints with the Ospreys for a total of 119 caps, yet was unable to break through into the Welsh squad in that time. The back row has been in some steamrolling form this season, with Cheika doubling down on his ambitions to see his man on the Test match stage before too long. "He may not be flash but is very consistent and if they gave him a go at international level, he would definitely perform."

4. Harry Thacker (Bristol Bears)

How Harry Thacker has been unable to earn a single England cap, goes far beyond the realms of logic. The Bristol Bears hooker has been a mainstay in the Premiership’s front row since 2013, beginning at his time with Leicester Tigers, before he made the move to the West Country in 2018. Always up there with the top players in his position for each season, Thacker has been exceptionally good throughout the 2024/25 campaign, as the Bears continue to claw their way into the top four.

Thacker had a strong outing against Saracens this past weekend, as he contributed a try from the back of a rolling maul, and a resolute defensive effort at the StoneX Stadium. Coming off the bench for fellow England hopeful Gabriel Oghre, Thacker emptied the tank throughout his 26 minutes, and lifted the tempo as his teammates began to fatigue. Whilst Thacker could not signle-handedly halt the Saracens onslaught, his efforts were commendable, as he again put himself forward for a long overdue England involvement.

5. James Chilsholm (Harlequins)

We return to the quartered shirts for the fifth name on this list, with James Chisholm joining his Harlequins teammate Jack Kenningham as a potential candidate for an England debut. Chisholm was certainly impressive in the win against Newcastle Falcons, as he capitalised on the opportunity to start with club captain Alex Dombrandt named among the replacements. Chisholm contributed a well-taken try to the Londoners solid away win, with smiles all round for the visitors in the bitterly cold North East.

The former London Scottish man is now off the mark for the 2024/25 season, as he crossed the whitewash in a sporadic move to the back of the pack. Chisholm is more often unleashed on the blindside flank by Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson, with this switch up to the eight role highlighting his versatility as a back-row all-rounder. Whilst like Kenningham, there is quite the pecking order between Chisholm and his desired England debut, the Harlequin could well come in to pack out the ranks for the incoming training squad.

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