"Last Chance Taken" - 5 England Hopefuls Who Impressed Ahead of Six Nations Squad Announcement

After starting their European campaigns so prominently, it was a rollercoaster weekend for the Premiership clubs across the two competitions. Wins for Northampton Saints, Exeter Chiefs and Bath sees the trio remain undefeated in the Champions Cup, and secure their spot in the Last 16. They are joined by Harlequins, after the Londoners racked up a landslide win over Cardiff in the weekend's 'battle of the capitals'.

Bristol Bears and Leicester Tigers are a weekend away from qualification, yet last season's Premiership finalists Saracens and Sale Sharks, both face the drop into the Challenge Cup. Both sitting at fifth in their respective pools, defeats to Bordeaux-Begles and the Stormers, puts the Champions Cup campaigns in peril for the two titans of English rugby.

Gloucester achieved a long-awaited win in the Challenge Cup, as they secured the comeback against Edinburgh. However, Newcastle Falcons stretch their losing streak to 14 games in a row, after defeat to URC high-flyers Benetton. Before we await the results of next weekend's Champions and Challenge Cup fixtures, we will find out the England squad for the 2024 Six Nations. And for these five hopefuls, all they can do now is wait.

Here are five England hopefuls who impressed last weekend, ahead of Steve Borthwick's Six Nations squad announcement on Wednesday.

We start off the top five of 'Borthwick's bolters', with a duo of Northampton Saints talents following their dominant win on Friday evening. The East Midlanders ran roughshod on Aviron Bayonnais, as they tallied up nine tries in the 61-14 drubbing. The first Northampton star on our list is back-row Tom Pearson, who took the headlines with a hat-trick of tries against the French visitors. Pearson was cut from Borthwick's squad ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and wants to return to the fray after his sole cap to date, which came in last Summer's defeat to Wales.

Pearson's first score came straight from the training ground, as he looped around the back of a line-out, caught the ball at pace and exploded through the helpless tackle attempts for the try. The flanker secured his brace just seven minutes later, with his close range power game on display once more against Bayonne. The 24-year-old's third try was the pick of the bunch, as he interlinked with Tommy Freeman on the left touch-line, and offered the key supporting line to execute a neat two-on-one move and complete a wonderful hat-trick.

Speaking after the match, Northampton Director of Rugby Phil Dowson was delighted with Pearson's efforts, in his continued push for the England squad:

“He’s a very driven guy. We knew that when we signed him, and (from) the conversations we had with him. We are starting to continue to push, and we’ll continue to get loads of feedback from our coaches as well as England. He’s athletically a bit of a freak, and so therefore, you have loads and loads of technical detail, because he’s coachable, and he gets better.”

The second Saint who has staked an undeniable claim for an England return, Tommy Freeman looks well on his way back into the international fold for the 2024 Six Nations. A key contributor in a multitude of positions, Freeman can excel on the wings, full-back and centre, which makes him a valuable 'utility' asset to have within Borthwick's toolkit. Where he will run out for England is difficult to predict, yet fans and pundits alike are clambering for his addition in the number 23 jersey at the very least.

Freeman starred on the right wing in the thrashing of Bayonne, and contributed the opening try of the match just one minute after the whistle had commenced the action. A hot start saw Rory Hutchinson chip the ball into the Bayonne back-field, and Freeman reacted first to gather and ground the ball for the try. Freeman was last seen in an England jersey back in the 2022 Autumn Internationals, for a first half run out against the Springboks. In what was his fourth cap, Freeman had previously played under Eddie Jones against the Barbarians, and emerged as an England test player in the 2022 Summer Tour, against Jones' future side of Australia.

Eager to return to the international scene, Freeman spoke after his Player of the Match performance against Bayonne, about how he has grown up from the "rookie" that England fans first watched 'down under'.

"I think my mindset going in to Australia and previous camps, I still felt very young. Everything kind of coming my way I was taking it just as it came. Whereas, I think now it’s not about just kind of taking a chance, it’s about you want to take your chance and stay in the frame, you don’t want to be kind of sitting on the fringes, which I felt like I probably was. I want to be right in the thick of it and hopefully stay there.”

"I think there’s a little bit maturity as well. I think (as) I’m getting older, I’m no longer the young rookie kind of thing. I’m now a little bit older, and I think as you get older, these decisions become a bit more clearer and easier.”

After missing out on the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad, Henry Slade looks to have made it his undeniable mission to regain his spot in the England squad. Not missing a beat from the return of the Gallagher Premiership, Slade has been in simply inspired form as the new-look Exeter Chiefs side outperformed expectations, with many memorable triumphs across the Premiership and European competitions.

This season, Slade has kicked the Chiefs to last-ditch wins against Gloucester and Toulon, with Glasgow Warriors now added to the list. After trailing for the majority of the match, Slade stepped up to convert Zach Wimbush's match winning try. With all the controversy of Glasgow's following disallowed try put to one side, Slade clawed his side ahead for the 19-17 win, having been a leading performer on the pitch for duration of the match. The centre's classy playmaking was out in full force, and he presented a resilient defensive backbone to match Sione Tuipulotu down the centre channel.

Steve Borthwick will have a new-look midfield for the 2024 Six Nations, with Slade looking like the front-runner to take the 13 jersey. With Marchant in France and Tuilagi once again injured, Borthwick will likely utilise the Chiefs man, who had yet another strong outing on the weekend. Arguably the bookies favourite England 'hopeful' to make a return to the squad, Slade has been reminding England fans what they've been missing, with consistent stand-out performances down in Devon.

A late arrival in the run-up to the England squad announcement, Harlequins back Oscar Beard staked his claim for a last-minute look-in, as the Londoners made light work of Cardiff. Running out at centre for this clash in the Welsh capital, Beard scored a tide-turning try and set-up another score at Cardiff Arms Park.

Beard's stunning solo run saw him collect the ball just inside the Cardiff 10m, and navigate his way through a slaloming sea of blue and black shirts. A quick turn of pace, coupled with a powering drive over Tinus de Beer, took Beard to the line, with the try awarded after a TMO review of the grounding. The 22-year-old has been plying his trade at Championship club London Scottish when he's not been picked for Quins, and presented his skillsets to the Cardiff capacity crowd yesterday afternoon.

Beard's try assist was equally as impressive, as he presented great awareness to pop the offload away in contact. After taking the ball on at pace, the centre was halted by de Beer, yet shipped the ball off to Tyrone Green. The full-back was played through a gap in the Cardiff defence, and showed the back-peddling defenders a clean pair of studs on his way through to the try line. Beard may not be on the immediate England radar come the 2024 Six Nations, yet this performance has certainly raised his stock for a run in the England 'A' set-up, that will take on Portugal at the end of February.

When Mercer arrived at Gloucester following his move from Montpellier, expectations were high for the back-row to excel in Steve Borthwick's England set-up after dominating the Top 14 defenses. However, the events which panned out did not go to plan, as Mercer missed out on the Rugby World Cup squad following a surprise omission from the England head coach.

Mercer took the set-back in his stride, and has been one of the leading performers throughout a difficult time at Kingsholm. The number eight ran out a stunning effort in last weekend's Challenge Cup, and contributed the match-winning try against Edinburgh. Having pinned the Scottish side on their try-line, Gloucester worked the ball in-field with short drives, before Mercer spotted a gap in the armour and crashed over for the match-levelling score. Adam Hastings' conversion solidified the win, yet the plaudits were awarded to England's unsung back-rower.

Should Mercer once again miss out on the England senior set-up, he could well get a run in the England 'A' team to showcase his talents against Portugal. It was announced last week, that the Gloucester Rugby partnership of head coach George Skivington and defensive coach Dom Waldouck would be apart of the England 'A' staff, with the pair more than aware of the talents which Mercer has in his repertoire. So, even if the likes of Ben Earl, Billy Vunipola and Alfie Barbeary get the nod by Borthwick, there will still be a chance for Mercer to wear the red rose in the coming weeks.