4. PREMIERSHIP FINAL HAD IMPLICATIONS UPON SELECTION – OBANO & LANGDON MISS OUT
The 2024 Premiership Final had significant implications upon the England Summer tour squad, with Bath prop Beno Obano suspended following the red card. Northampton hooker Curtis Langdon also misses out, after the front row picked up an injury in last weekend’s final.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “Curtis Langdon went off with a stinger injury (in the Premiership Final), he was very much in contention for selection. He had some weakness post-game and the next morning, but we don’t think it’s a long-term injury, we expect him to recover within a short period of time.He was one who was in contention for selection. Today from both a medical and a disciplinary point of view, I wanted to make sure this selection was definitive.
“The squad meets this afternoon, we train tomorrow morning, we fly Wednesday morning. This is a squad that’s coming together in a couple of hours’ time, and I want to start our preparation straight away.
“Both (Curtis Langdon and Beno Obano) very were much in the frame, and subsequent to recovery from injury and disciplinary processes, they are players that are considered to go on a standby list. I’ll always notify players who are the players I’m going to be looking to to call up should we need to call players out. And subsequent to situations, those two players are potentials for that list.”
“When I talk to the players a lot about performing in the test match environment, and you’ll hear me talking about test match animals – playing in the biggest stadiums, the biggest noises and atmospheres, the consequences for each action being enormous. And able to perform, do the right thing at the right time.
“I thought Saturday, playing in the Premiership Final at a sold out Twickenham, 82,000 people, in a game that was so tight, it’s a brilliant stepping stone towards test rugby. Nothing replicates test rugby. It’s called test rugby for a reason, it’s a proper test.
“I thought Saturday was an arm wrestle of a game where two teams have tried to find a way to win. I thought some of the players really shone. I think if you looked at that game in particular, we’ve talked about Fin (Smith), Sam Underhill – his performance in a 14-man effort, I thought he was in terms of his defensive effort in terms of his tackle and at the breakdown, I thought he was exceptional.
“Ben Spencer we spoke about, and you also look at those Northampton players and the impact that they have. The pace, one little bit of space and their ability to finish. Ollie Sleightholme is an example, Alex Mitchell, being able to just find any gap and he’s away. I thought in many ways it was a great game to replicate a stepping stone, towards the series.
5. UNCAPPED PLAYERS CALLED UP – SLEIGHTHOLME & ROEBUCK EXCITING PROSPECTS
Steve Borthwick named six uncapped players in his squad, with Ollie Sleightholme called up after ending the premiership season as the league’s top try scorer. Tom Roebuck also gets the nod, with the Sale Sharks man hoping to build on his Six Nations squad involvement from earlier this year.
STEVE BORTHWICK: As you look at them, Tom Roebuck is a player who was part of that Six Nations squad, who was chomping at the bit for an opportunity in the matchday 23. He didn’t get that during the Six Nations, and was disappointed but still so eager to perform in training. I would say his post-Six Nations return to club, his game’s taken another step forward.He’s another player who I’m excited about what he can achieve in the future.
“You mention Ollie Sleightholme, clearly his point of difference is to beat defenders and find the tryline. The top try-scorer in the Premiership, has incredible pace and we want that in this England team.
“I’ve spoken to him several times throughout the season. we can talk a lot about what he does in the attacking side, he’s beaten such a huge number of defenders, and clearly I want people who have that point of difference of scoring tries.The other thing is he’s a very effective defender.You can see how important this defensive system has been to us, over just five games in the Six Nations. We see him fitting into that system very, very well.”