5. Cadan Murley
The exciting Harlequins winger was unfortunate to not have already made his England debut, after being initially named in Steve Borthwick’s squad for the 2023 Six Nations. Murley was named as one of five uncapped England hopefuls, yet was unable to make his mark in a white shirt. The 23-year-old was promptly returned home to the Twickenham Stoop, with Gloucester winger Jonny May called into the squad ahead of Murley, after a short injury concern to Max Malins.
Murley has been wasting no time back at Quins, and looks to be playing with an ignited fire inside of him. Murley currently leads the way for clean breaks, out of any Premiership player this season, with 24 made. He has also made the 3rd most metres with the ball-in-hand this Premiership campaign, with 986m made so far. A dangerous threat in attack, Murley’s 13 tries for Harlequins has seen him turn defenders inside-out, and stamp his claim for an England debut.
Always ready to rise to the big occasion, Murley plays with the confidence of a veteran far beyond his years. A firm fan favourite at the Stoop, the winger has already caught Borthwick’s attention, and could certainly be called in to reinforce the England squads back line. A World Cup is a marathon, and with Murley’s impressive abilities at the sprint, he should be included in Borthwick’s plans in some capacity come September.
Expect the young Harlequins winger to make his debut during the upcoming Rugby World Cup Warm-Up matches, and shake off any international nerves. Getting this experience in a ‘friendly’ environment can benefit Murley, as he hopes to book his place on the squad list for France.