The wait is finally over — the Six Nations returns this week. For Steve Borthwick and his England side, the next five weeks represent a chance to make history by completing the Six Nations Grand Slam for only the third time in their history.
England’s bid for that begins on Saturday against Wales at Twickenham, with Borthwick set to name his team for that game later today.
There are plenty of talking points — not least who wins the battle for a starting berth in midfield.
Daily Mail Sport’s experts run the rule over the squad and name the team they would pick to take on the Welsh.
England are busy preparing for the start of the Six Nations with a training camp in Girona
Sir Clive Woodward
England go into the 2026 Six Nations in a great position, but I am sure Borthwick will be using the Championship to start nailing down key combinations ahead of next year’s World Cup.
Most importantly, he needs to keep developing a mindset in his team that nothing else matters other than winning the next game.
Tommy Freeman has to stay at outside centre and so long as he is fit, must remain there. The midfield pairing has been England’s Achilles’ heel for so long.
Steve Borthwick has a raft of options to choose from, but this is where the art of being a top international coach comes in. Nailing your selection is a coach’s No 1 skill.
You have to be prepared to live or die by the calls you make. I’d go for Seb Atkinson alongside Freeman. I’m sure he would have played in the autumn were it not for injury.
Having George Furbank fit again at full back adds another strength to what is already a very good England team. With George Ford, Atkinson and Furbank all in the same side, England have the footballing ability to unleash their strike runners in Freeman, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tom Roebuck.
England’s pack arguably picks itself with injuries to props Fin Baxter and Will Stuart, but I still come from the school where I want my best team starting.
Bringing on the likes of Tom Curry and Henry Pollock as replacements clearly worked for England in the autumn.
But I would want to start with Pollock and have his talent on the field for 80 minutes, not 20!
The balance of England’s back row won’t be an issue against Wales. I would like to see if Guy Pepper, Pollock and Ben Earl can go head-to-head with the best back rows in the tournament.
The strength in depth of the current England squad is as good as I’ve known it for some years.
Sir Clive Woodward would start with Henry Pollock despite his recent impact off the bench
Nik Simon
Let’s replace the ‘Pom Squad’ with ‘Trev and Bev’ for the opening round. England’s loaded bench navigated them through the latter stages of tight Test matches in the autumn, but they should deliver a statement scoreline against the Welsh.
Based on Wales’ woeful form, England should be out of sight well before the final quarter.
If Pollock and Ellis Genge can bring their aggressive energy from minute one, England can charge towards a winning margin that justifies their status as Grand Slam contenders.
The likes of Genge, Pollock and Curry have embraced their roles as game-changing replacements, but you suspect frustrations will creep in should that become their long-term role. With that in mind, Steve Borthwick should give them an opportunity to start.
Scrummaging is all about units so Luke Cowan-Dickie should link up with his Sale team-mate Bevan Rodd and will be joined by the likes of Trevor Davison and Pepper on the bench.
Based on training runs out in Girona, Fraser Dingwall seems the likely candidate to wear the No 12 jersey.
His Northampton connection is logical to help Freeman settle into the No 13 jersey, but I feel Max Ojomoh deserves an extended stay.
With Freddie Steward at full back, Ojomoh is England’s most natural second playmaker. He offers a good kicking game to bring England’s high-ball specialists into play, as well as silky long-range passing.
There has been a clamour for Furbank to be fast-tracked into the No 15 jersey but this would be unfair on Steward, who was a rock during the autumn and has been in fine form for Leicester.
England are keen to reintegrate Furbank back into their plans, so it would be no great surprise if he were handed the No 23 jersey ahead of Marcus Smith, who could pay a high price for Harlequins’ woeful league form.
Centre Max Ojomoh (above) deserves an extended stay in the side in the eyes of Nik Simon
Alex Bywater
Like Sir Clive, I’m all for England nailing down their key combinations. But my opinion on certain positions is different. There is no doubt Freeman can be a Test star at outside centre. But, for me, he is England’s best winger, although Feyi-Waboso’s is close behind due to his superb form for Exeter.
Ollie Lawrence should be first choice at No 13. His performance as England beat New Zealand in the autumn, when Freeman was out injured, was exceptional and didn’t get the headlines it deserved.
A midfield of Atkinson and Lawrence is, admittedly, yet another new pairing so may take some time to bed in. But I think it is the best one. Crucially, it puts two of England’s best players in Freeman and Lawrence in their best positions.
Lawrence is far more than a pure basher in midfield and it must not be forgotten that he is not long back from a serious achilles injury. He will only get better the more he plays.
England have the most settled squad among the Six Nations teams and one with plenty of depth too. Crucially, they have players in form and a good mix of youth and experience.
The brutal realities of international rugby combined with the fact this tournament has one fewer rest week than in the past means all teams will have to make changes from game to game. That is where England’s depth will make the difference.
The experienced Henry Slade is likely to be a fringe player at best but is arguably having one of the best seasons of his career with Exeter.
You could make a pretty good argument to say that England’s second or perhaps even third-choice side would beat Wales this weekend. That not only says a lot about how far the Welsh have fallen, but also how strong England have become.
