Steve Borthwick explains Owen Farrell England recall situation

Farrell, who returned from France earlier this year, is once again eligible for selection. He earned a late call-up to the British & Irish Lions this summer and demonstrated he can still perform on the biggest stage, helping the tourists secure a 2-1 series win in Australia.

The Saracens captain has made a strong start to the season and has confirmed he is available for England, though his immediate focus remains on club duties.

“Owen has gone out quite publicly and said a number of times that for right now, it's just to get back to playing rugby back in England, enjoying his rugby after a difficult year injury-wise last season," Borthwick told Sky Sports.

“We're only a handful of games into this season, so I don't think that's a discussion for right now.

"I'm delighted with the players that are here and the exciting depth of talent we have. My attitude to these kind of situations is that the door is never closed. As far as I'm concerned, I'm watching every English player playing.

"What I would say is, there's a lot of very good players in the squad right now. Players that I am enjoying working with."

Bursting onto the scene following a sensational performance in the fourth round of the Gallagher PREM, is Saracens' latest break-out talent Noah Caluori. The hot-stepping wing was the headline act of the past weekend of the English top flight, as Caluori scored an astonishing five tries as Saracens dismantled Sale Sharks down at the StoneX Stadium.

This win over the Manchester club was only Caluori's third PREM Rugby fixture, as the 19-year-old has been fast-tracked into the England squad under a 'Development Player' role. England fans have become steadily familiar with this terminology over the years, with the likes of Marcus Smith taking up the role ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Caluori has gained previous international honours within the England U20 set-up, as the 19-year-old starred for Mark Mapletoft's side throughout the latest U20 World Championships.

Caluori made his Saracens debut in the latest pre-season, as he ran out for the North Londoners in the PREM Rugby Cup defeat to Leicester Tigers. The future is certainly bright for Caluori, should he keep up this meteoric rise to prominence and take valuable learnings from his time within the senior England environment. Remember the name with big things expected from the bright young spark.

With Noah Caluori officially classed as a 'Development Player' within the announced England squad, Leicester Tigers back row Emeka Ilione holds the accolade of being the only uncapped player in Steve Borthwick's listed training squad ahead of the Autumn Nations Series. The hype has steadily been building around the East Midlands for Ilione to earn his England call-up, as he has garnered the adulation of the Welford Road faithful.

At 23-years-old, Ilione has been on the Tigers books since 2018 with a steady progression through the academy. The back row signed his first professional contract ahead of the 2022/23 Premiership season, with Leicester happy to loan the young gun out to Nottingham Rugby for some crucial senior men's game time in the Championship. Ilione's last match for the Archers came in September 2024, with the back row retained upon the Tigers squad to earn his stripes all throughout last season.

Ilione certainly impressed former Leicester head coach Michael Cheika, as the Australian handed the back row a place upon the bench for the latest Premiership Rugby Final at the Allianz. Whilst Leicester came away from Twickenham on the losing end of the score-line to Bath, Ilione made a personal highlight as he bagged a try in the final in a fiery appearance from the bench. Ilione has steadily progressed into a first choice starter in the Leicester back row, with his England experience and a potential Test debut in the Autumn only set to elevate his game.

It was a tough choice whether to highlight Adam Radwan or Henry Arundell within this third spot, with both of the high flying wings getting their performances dutifully recognised with a spot each in the England training camp. Whilst Arundell's return to the PREM has been an impressive comeback story following London Irish's collapse and an injury hindered stint with Racing 92, Radwan's steady graft over multiple seasons gets the tip of the hat for our third entry upon this list.

Radwan last played for England back in the Autumn Nations Cup of 2021, when Eddie Jones selected the speedster for a hard-fought clash with Tonga. Radwan scored a well-taken try in the win over the Pacific Islanders, yet the outside back was unable to return to the Test match stage in the time since. Radwan was a solid week-in and week-out operator for Newcastle, yet the Falcons' underwhelming form would often see Radwan struggle to find the spotlight and catch the England selectors' attention.

With blistering pace that is his undeniable x-factor, Radwan finally decided to leave the North East once his contract expired mid-way through the 2024/25 Premiership season. With reported offers on the table from Bath and in the French Top 14, Radwan headed to Leicester back in January, where he's since enjoyed a fresh change of scenery at Welford Road. Upon his first season in the East Midlands, Radwan made an appearance in a Premiership Final, and the wing will be hoping to return back to Twickenham this Autumn with the red rose upon his jersey.

Having spent an unforgettable Summer on tour with the British & Irish Lions, you would be forgiven for forgetting that Henry Pollock only has one senior England cap to his name. The 20-year-old is back for more this Autumn, with Steve Borthwick naming the bright young spark amongst his experienced group of forwards within the Pennyhill Park training squad.

Pollock's 2024/25 season was the stuff of dreams, as the back-row burst onto the scene with an incredible string of first team appearances for Northampton Saints. Having cut his teeth with Bedford Blues against the grizzled veterans of the Championship, Pollock was primed and ready to be unleashed upon the top flight, yet not even he would have expected just how rapid his rise to prominence would be.

Pollock produced viral moments in Northampton's phenomenal Champions Cup run, with 'pulse-checking' and 'basketball shooting' celebrations imitated across the grass roots game. Just one month after the back row played his final match for the England U20s, Pollock earned his senior Test debut for Steve Borthwick's side, and produced a debut of dreams off the bench against Wales in the 2025 Six Nations. Pollock scored two tries in Cardiff, as England made light work of their age-old rivals.

Then came the call from Andy Farrell, as Pollock was revealed to be the youngest member of the Lions squad for the Summer tour of Australia. The Saints man made his Lions Test debut in Dublin against Argentina, but would not feature in the trilogy series against the Wallabies.

Pollock currently holds a unique Test record of one England and one Lions cap, with the back row bolter set to build upon his tally, as he could finally get his hands upon the Wallabies this Autumn.

The future is now for England's front row, with a changing of the guard witnessed at the end of the 2024/25 Premiership Rugby season. Whilst Joe Marler hung up his boots mid-way through the campaign, the latest Premiership Final marked the end of Dan Cole's career, with a new breed of England props set to jostle over the one and three jerseys for the foreseeable future.

A man with the unique ability to stake a claim to both the loose and tight-head shirts, is Sale's versatile prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour. On paper, the 21-year-old is listed as a tight-head prop, however, the front rower did run-out at loose-head for England A as recently as last November. Opoku-Fordjour was a loose-head all throughout his England U20s career, yet Alex Sanderson deploys the wrecking-ball upon the tight-head at Sale Sharks.

This versatility could pave the way for Opoku-Fordjour to have a starring role in the Autumn, as a multi-tooled covering option to explode from the bench. Opoku-Fordjour mirrors Henry Pollock, in having a singular senior international cap to his name, as the Sale prop made his debut last Autumn in England's one-sided win over Eddie Jones' Japan.

Despite missing out on the 2025 Six Nations campaign, Opoku-Fordjour is back now in the mix, with added experience under his belt following a pre-tour training camp stint with the British & Irish Lions in the Summer.