"Making it Count" - 5 England Hopefuls Who Impressed In Round Seven of the Gallagher Premiership

The league is back in full flow, with plenty of England hopefuls starring for their clubs, and looking for a call-up into Steve Borthwick's squad.

The 2024 Six Nations continue to creep in over the horizon, with England beginning their campaign with a trip to Italy on February 3rd. Borthwick will be keeping an eye on the Premiership's top performers, with the league brimming with England hopefuls that are eager for their time in the senior squad spotlight. Once again, we were treated to two matches under the Friday night lights, with Northampton and Sale Sharks recording wins to kick off the weekend's action.

Northampton battled against a resilient Harlequins side, in an yo-yoing match that ended 36-33 to the Saints. Sale and Bath had a polarising match, as the low scoring contest was one for the purists, and saw Sale clinch an 11-9 win thanks to the boot of George Ford. Saturday's action saw Leicester Tigers get some key points on the table, as they begin to claw their way back up the league in their 38-20 win against Gloucester. Bristol Bears then took Saracens to their very limit, yet the Londoners came away victorious at the Stone X in a 39-31 classic.

Sunday's action saw Exeter Chiefs make the almighty trek up North to face Newcastle Falcons. The men from Devon secured their first away win of the Premiership season, with New Zealand prop Josh Iosefa-Scott's late winning try, handing the hard-fought points to the visitors. Here is a run-down of our picks, for the top five England hopefuls who impressed this past weekend in the Premiership.

Making his first Northampton start of the 2023/24 Premiership season, Ollie Slightholme marked the occasion by grabbing a brace of tries in the win over Harlequins. This end-to-end contest saw 10 tries go over at Franklin's Gardens, with the Saints claiming a narrow 36-33 win over their London visitors. Sleightholme was excellent in this one, and wasted no time in his return to the starting line-up, as he crashed over for an eighth minute response, to Cadan Murley's early Quins opener.

The move began with a well worked set-piece, as Tom Pearson claimed the arial ball and popped it away from the line-out. Hooker Sam Matavesi then looped around the back of the pack, and charged up-field with Sleightholme in support. The Harlequins defence were taken aback by the Saints dummy line, with Matavesi finding Sleightholme in the pocket. The powerful winger then bulldozed his way through Marcus Smith's chop tackle attempt, and muscled his way over to score.

Sleightholme's second try came in the matches' latter stages, with Northampton's final try establishing enough daylight to see out the victory. Harlequins did respond with a final roll of the dice, yet it proved to be a consolation score, with the deficit too far in favour of the Saints. Sleightholme was screaming for the ball out on the right touchline, and the accurate distribution of George Hendy found the winger. Sleightholme brushed off Tyrone Green's covering tackle, and dotted down for a match-winning try in the corner. A stunning effort for the England U20's star, Sleightholme is on the right track for a senior side debut after previous training squad call-ups under Eddie Jones.

Sticking with the try-scoring wingers for the time being, Leicester Tigers flyer Ollie Hassell-Collins also put his hand up for future England selection over the weekend. Hassell-Collins responded to Sleightholme's friday night performance with two tries of his own, as the East Midland's rivals jostle for a spot in Steve Borthwick's England squad. The Leicester Tigers man has been amongst Borthwick's squad in the past, and made his test match debut in the 2023 Six Nations.

However, he failed to make the grade for the Rugby World Cup squad, and wants back in the fold following Jonny May's international retirement. Hassell-Collins began his afternoon in Gloucester with a try just before the break, as he caught hold of the ball out wide, and weaved past Santi Carreras with a powerful first step. The Argentine could not wrestle the powerful winger into touch, with Hassell-Collins able to stroll over for the try.

All the plaudits for Hassell-Collins' second try go to Freddie Steward, as the England fullback had a stunning run-out at Kingsholm. Steward's Man of the Match performance put Marcus Smith's fullback ambitions on notice, with a key contribution coming in the set-up to Hassell-Collins' second score. The winger once again brushed off Santi Carreras on his way through to the try-line, and showed a great turn of pace to run level with Steward for the pass, and then explode down the wing to score the try.

Exeter Chiefs' Rus Tuima has been putting the England locks on notice in recent weeks, and had another starring performance for his side this past weekend. Tuima has undergone a positional change this season, as he's moved up a rung from the back-row to lock, and has thrived in each run-out in the four of five jersey. One of the Exeter's top performers so far this season, Tuima's versatility could help this upward trajectory, and could well take him into Borthwick's plans for the 2024 Six Nations.

Tuima has been apart of the Exeter squad since 2018, after breaking through the side's academy set-up. The Fijian-born talent has also previously experienced lone spells with Cornish Pirates, yet has really come into his own for the Chiefs within the past season. This new-look Exeter side has given Tuima a platform to flourish, as the likes of Jannes Kirsten and Mike Williams have moved on, which opened up vacancies across the row.

Tuima made key contributions in attack and defence against the Falcons, with a key pair of carries making way for the eventual match winning try. In classic Exeter style, the Chiefs had their opponents pinned on their try-line, and battered their defensive structure with relentless short carries from close range. Tuima made a pair of strong charges in the match's closing phases, with Newcastle throwing numerous bodies in the way of the 23-year-old. This cracked the Falcon's foundations, with gaps opening up for Iosefa-Scott to score the winning try, off the following phase of play.

Despite coming out on the losing side of the score-line, Newcastle Falcons hooker Jamie Blamire had another strong performance for his club. After impressing Borthwick throughout the 2022/23 season, Blamire was awarded with an England call-up last Summer but was released after the wider-training squad was reduced down to a 33-man contingent for France. Blamire started against Wales in the opening Summer Nations defeat, and has kicked through to top gear with his Falcons side.

Despite the fact that Newcastle are still searching for their first win of the Premiership season, Blamire has been top class in the Falcons front-row. Consistently amongst his side's top performers week after week, the seven-capped England hooker certainly knows his way to the try-line. Blamire has scored four tries in seven games in 2023/24 (including the Premiership Rugby Cup), and added his latest score in style against Exeter Chiefs.

Blamire charged on to Pedro Rubiolo's off-load, and set off through a gap that opened up on Exeter's 10m line. Blamire showed nimble feet to step away from Jack Yeandle's grasp, and motored down-field like a tank with a Ferrari's engine. He skipped passed the outstretched arms of Tommy Wyatt, leaving the Exeter fullback in a spin. Blamire then ignited the afterburners, and showed a great burst of pace to beat Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to the try-line, as the winger was hot on the hooker's heels at the finish.

Bristol Bears second row Joe Batley is our pick for the fifth impressive England hopeful from the weekend. Going toe-to-toe with the Premiership's best locks, Batley rose to the occasion and marked the match with a stunning solo score. The 27-year-old lock is a former graduate of the England U18s and U20s set-up, but a full test match cap has since avoided the Bristol Bears man. Batley battled hard throughout the contest, yet his starring moment came in his try after 20 minutes.

The move began with Callum Sheedy's neat change of direction, that sent Batley through a gap on the Saracens 10m line. However, the lock still had plenty to do, and charged away down-field with a pair of Saracens defenders lining up the big shot. Batley battened down the hatches, and battered his way through the covering players sending the two black shirts spiralling to the deck. Batley then extended out his arm to reach over for the try, and wrap up a stunning score that presented his power game.

Despite the calbire of international opponent that Batley faced up against, he was not phased by the likes of Maro Itoje in the Saracens second row. The Bristol Bears man took the fight straight to the England international, and battled Itoje as Bristol scored a first half try from the driving maul. Itoje too had an impressive run out on Saturday, however that is in part due to Batley's persistent pressure on the England lock, which brought the best out of him. Batley could well progress into Borthwick's wider training squad before too long, and continue to bring the best out of Itoje, albeit as a positional rival.

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