5 Shock Omissions: Big Names Left Out by Steve Borthwick This Autumn

With fierce competition across the board and exciting young talent emerging, a few familiar names may find themselves on the outside looking in. As England gear up to face Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Argentina, here are five players who could miss out this Autumn.

Despite showing plenty of promise in recent seasons, Theo Dan may find himself on the fringes this autumn. He was a late addition to the starting XV during England’s summer series, and it quickly became a difficult afternoon. Lineout accuracy suffered, a handling error and high tackle disrupted his momentum, and injury forced him off before the 50-minute mark.

With Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie firmly established, and further hooker depth coming through, there’s little room for error in this position.

Dan is only 24, and England clearly see potential in him, but for now, he may need to return to club form to stake his claim again. The long-term outlook is still positive—he just needs consistency and a clean run of games to rebuild confidence.

Few would have predicted it earlier this year, but Freddie Steward suddenly faces a real battle to retain his place in the England squad. Once viewed as a guaranteed starter at fullback, Steward has seen competition rise sharply.

Joe Carpenter impressed during England’s summer tour, Marcus Smith is being trialled more regularly at 15, and the likes of George Furbank and Elliot Daly offer flexibility that Steward doesn’t. Borthwick’s preference for ball-playing, attack-minded fullbacks may not play to Steward’s more defensive strengths.

His high-ball security and positioning remain top tier, but the direction of the team might not favour his skillset right now. He’s still a high-quality option and could easily return, but heading into autumn, he appears to be out of favour.

For a player with 70+ caps and a central role in England’s midfield over the years, Henry Slade finds himself in a precarious spot heading into the autumn. Despite holding an EPS contract, his recent performances haven’t fully convinced, and the competition around him is heating up.

Ollie Lawrence is fit again and likely to reclaim the 13 shirt, while talents like Tommy Freeman have been linked with a potential shift to outside centre. Slade’s versatility remains valuable, but at 32, and with England eyeing younger options ahead of the next World Cup cycle, he may not be the automatic pick he once was. If selection is based strictly on current form, Slade could well be on the outside looking in.

As one of England’s most committed and consistent performers in the back row, Sam Underhill has every right to feel unfortunate if he’s left out of the squad this autumn.

His performances in the summer were characteristically strong—defensively robust and physically imposing—but the competition for places has become brutal. Tom Curry and Ben Earl return from the Lions tour, and highly rated youngster Henry Pollock is pushing hard for inclusion.

Even Ben Curry, who missed out on Lions selection, is in the mix. While Underhill hasn’t done much wrong, the tactical flexibility offered by others—particularly Earl—may count against him. England are spoiled for choice in this area, and Underhill might miss out simply due to the numbers game.

Injury setbacks and fierce competition are likely to keep Ollie Sleightholme out of England’s autumn plans. The Northampton winger has explosive pace and finishing ability, but a recurring hamstring issue limited him to just 12 appearances last season—and according to Saints' Director of Rugby Phil Dowson, the injury is still lingering.

During his absence, others have seized the moment. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tom Roebuck, Cadan Murley and Tommy Freeman all impressed over the summer and now appear ahead in the pecking order. Sleightholme hasn’t had the consistent game time needed to build momentum, and without a clear window of fitness ahead, it’s hard to see him making the cut. If he can get healthy and stay there, though, the door remains open.