"Eight Cut From Wales Defeat" - Borthwick's England Rugby World Cup Squad: 5 Talking Points

With the dust settled on England's disappointing defeat to Wales in Cardiff, all eyes now turn to this weekend's return fixture. England host Warren Gatland's side at Twickenham Stadium, with Borthwick ready to showcase his newly selected squad.

Here are the five biggest talking points, from Steve Borthwick's England Rugby World Cup squad announcement.

Eight players who featured in England's disappointing 20-9 defeat to Wales, have been cut from Steve Borthwick's revised squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Borthwick previously discussed how his players knew where they stood with their chances of making the competition, and he gave no second chances to eight players after England's opening defeat of the 2023 Summer Series.

From the squad that flopped against Wales, six starters have subsequently been let go back to their clubs, after failing to impress Borthwick. Alex Dombrandt, Tom Willis, Guy Porter, Joe Cokanasiga, Tom Pearson and Jamie Blamire all now leave the England camp having started against Wales in Cardiff. The remaining two players came off the bench, as Jonny Hill played all but five minutes of the second half, and Henry Slade made a cameo appearance in the final 10 minutes.

Borthwick seems to be running a tight ship at Pennyhill Park, with little room for error available for the players who underperformed against Warren Gatland's side. This Saturday sees England host Wales in a return match at Twickenham Stadium, in what will likely feature Borthwick trailing out his new templated 'A' team, for the 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign.

2. No 'Out-And-Out' Number Eight Behind Injured Billy Vunipola

The omission of Harlequins back-rower Alex Dombrandt is an interesting cut, as this leaves Steve Borthwick without a specialist number eight, aside from Billy Vunipola. The Saracen is currently recovering from undergoing knee surgery, yet has been selected within the 33-man squad. The question remains though, as to who will start at eight-man for the remaining Summer Series matches.

Borthwick has selected Vunipola's Saracens teammate Ben Earl, along with Lewis Ludlam, Jack Willis, Tom Curry and Courtney Lawes as back-row options. Tom Curry has previously worn the number eight jersey for England during the tail end of the Eddie Jones era, but the Sale man recently suffered an ankle injury in training. Curry was recently sporting a protective boot, putting his selection for this weekend against the odds.

Lawes is a versatile asset would could perform in the eight shirt, as well as anywhere across the second and back-row for that matter. Willis has only ran out in an eight shirt on a handful of occasions in his career, with his predominant strength being on the openside flank. The same applies to Ludlam, yet his recent England performances have come in the number six jersey.

Borthwick's worst-kept secret was that he will be taking three fly halves to the Rugby World Cup, with Owen Farrell, George Ford and Marcus Smith being relative shoe-ins for the three vacancies. The only fly half to occupy the fringes of the England squad is Fin Smith, however the Northampton Saints halfback failed to get on the pitch for the 2023 Six Nations, and promptly returned to Franklin's Gardens.

The England fly half selection saga reached a fever-pitch in the latest Six Nations, with Farrell dropped to the bench in favour of Smith in the colossal defeat to France, before he was then released back to Harlequins. Smith then fought back with a vengeance, starring against Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham under Borthwick's orders for him to 'boss a game.'

Farrell was sat down for the recent clash with Wales at the Principality Stadium, with Smith entrusted to lead the line in Cardiff. Ford replaced the Harlequins flyer from the bench, and ran-out for the final twenty minutes in England's defeat. This could well be the England pecking order for Farrell's understudies, with a Farrell-Smith-Ford hierarchy looking all but established.

However, the ongoing question remains if Borthwick will utilise the tried and tested Ford-Farrell 10-12 partnership, that took England to the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final, and won the 2020 Six Nations title.

4. Only One of Three Debutants Makes the Grade After Wales Defeat

Out of the three England debutants that took to the Principality Stadium, just one has progressed into Borthwick's 2023 Rugby World Cup squad. Saracens hooker Theo Dan has been included in the 33-man group, with the back-row duo of Tom Willis and Tom Pearson falling to the wayside.

Dan had a 'coming of age' performance in the 2023 Premiership Final, as he was ushered on sooner than expected following an early injury to Jamie George. The 22-year-old was instrumental in Saracens' title securing campaign, with the Premiership Final performance igniting his road to an England debut. Dan is in the perfect environment to thrive in the England camp, as he re-joins up with his Saracens mentor George.

Northampton Saints loose forward Tom Pearson misses out, despite having a phenomenal season with his former club London Irish. He was awarded the Premiership Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Award, yet the 23-year-old was unable to follow up on this momentum with his England debut. It's a disappointing cut for England fans, who have been clambering to see Pearson run out for his country.

Tom Willis won't be joining his brother Jack in the World Cup squad, after his debut against Wales failed to change the mind of Borthwick's selection plans. There's a lot of excitable buzz around Willis, as he returns to the Premiership after the collapse of Wasps. The 24-year-old will be making his Saracens debut sooner than he hoped, as he leaves Bordeaux whilst England head over to France.

With Billy Vunipola injured, the door remained a jar for a late call-up to Zach Mercer to occupy the number eight role. However, no such news has come to fruition, with the newly signed Gloucester man set to stay put at Kingsholm during September and October. Mercer's release last month ago came as a shock, as the former Montpellier man was riding a wave of momentum in the Top 14.

Mercer was a key player for the Southern France side, starting 26 out of 27 matches across the Top 14 and Champions Cup. His unwavering engine and heads-up aggression excited England fans and pundits alike when he was included into the wider training squad this Summer, yet he failed to impress Borthwick for a spot in the refined squad. This exclusion saw fans and rugby alumni call out for a late Mercer inclusion, which has not come to pass.

“I play the game very differently to a lot of No 8s in England, and in the world. I’m not the stereotypical No 8 as some would say. So, I understand it if you want to play differently. Obviously, the back row is really competitive, so I knew I was never guaranteed. Steve wanted to go down a different route with how he wanted the back row to play and who he wanted." Mercer said last month to Rugby Pass.

“I’m not sitting and waiting as it would drive me insane. If I get a call from Steve, I get a call from Steve. There was no bad blood left there at all. It’s not written off, not at all. You want to play in World Cups, but at the forefront is my little baby girl, my wife, and Gloucester."

Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 9 caps)

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 100 caps)***

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 45 caps)*

Theo Dan (Saracens, 1 cap)

Ben Earl (Saracens, 15 caps)

Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 49 caps)*

Jamie George (Saracens, 77 caps)**

Maro Itoje (Saracens, 67 caps)*

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 97 caps)***

Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 20 caps)*

Joe Marler (Harlequins, 79 caps)**

George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)

David Ribbans (Toulon, 6 caps)

Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 3 caps)

Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 62 caps)*

Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)

Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 68 caps) **

Jack Walker (Harlequins, 3 caps)

Jack Willis (Toulouse, 10 caps)

Henry Arundell (Racing 92, 7 caps)

Danny Care (Harlequins, 88 caps)*

Elliot Daly (Saracens, 57 caps)*

Owen Farrell (Saracens, 106 caps)**

George Ford (Sale Sharks, 82 caps)**

Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 11 caps)

Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 19 caps)

Joe Marchant (Stade Francais, 16 caps)

Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 22 caps)

Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 23 caps)

Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 51 caps)**

Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 13 caps)

Anthony Watson (unattached, 55 caps)**

Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 122 caps)***