By Charlie Elliott
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England have three Tests to play this summer, travelling to Argentina to face Los Pumas twice and then facing the USA.
With it taking place in the same summer as the British and Irish Lions, there will be key players missing, and a few new faces potentially joining as a result.
Many see it as an opportunity for Steve Borthwick to blood some new talent and create a new look team built around some of the strong young talent coming through.
Lee Blackett and Byron McGuigan have been appointed as staff, and could also be able to stake their claim as international coaches.
Here is a rundown on how things are shaping up for England, with some of the new talent that may be coming through.
New Coaches
Bath’s attack coach Lee Blackett and Sale Sharks defensive coach Byron McGuigan have joined Steve Borthwick’s setup ahead of the tour, with both bringing unique experiences and ideas to the squad.
Blackett had head coach credentials, being the boss at Wasps when they reached an unlikely Premiership final in 2019/20.
The Blue, Black and Whites have the best attack in the league with 83 tries and 568 points scored.
This will be more of a simple swap as England’s current attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, is off on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.
Head coach of England A for their 28-12 win over Ireland A, he is widely known as being one of the most innovative coaches in the country.
Byron McGuigan has been one of the biggest unsung heroes in the entire Premiership this season, as he has revolutionised Sale Sharks’ defence following his promotion to defence coach in November.
After a shaky start to the season for Sale, since he has come in, the impact has been night and day, with Alex Sanderson’s side now looking likely to qualify for the top four.
McGuigan wants front foot defence, but not to the extent of the ‘blitz’ that has now effectively been banished, meaning that his style could prove to be a happy medium in adapting to a new era for Steve Borthwick.
Both appointments are exciting for England, and it will be interesting to see how they get on in the Americas.
Max Ojomoh
Centre is the position that England have the most questions about, but also with a lot of talent that this tour could hugely benefit.
Ojomoh is the perfect representation of that; he hasn’t been given much of a chance for England, but has been in great form for Bath so far this season.
Speedy and technically brilliant, putting Ojomoh alongside a powerful runner could be a hugely positive partnership that Steve Borthwick could utilise going forward.
Joe Carpenter
One of the most underrated players in the Prem so far, Carpenter has been hugely consistent for Sale Sharks this season, and with the new addition of Byron McGuigan, his chances have been boosted.
The fullback is one of those players who would be good enough to play at the top level, but not quite good enough to force his way in.
He can do the basics well and has flashes of quality with the ball in hand, but it would be interesting to see if his qualities can translate to Test level.
Afolabi Fasogbon
Young prop Fasogbon is the next big front row talent coming out of England, with this season being his breakout year.
Super confident and extremely talented, his wave on Ellis Genge at the start of the season was a sign of just how much he believes in himself.
Part of the new generation of props who are not only super powerful, but technically very solid, it is only a matter of time until Fasogbon gets some international credit.
Arthur Clark
Young lock Clark was very unlucky not to train with England in January, after he was called up but broke a bone in his foot.
Gloucester have surprised everyone this season with their super attacking rugby, which has only been made possible by the hard work of the forwards.
With Maro Itoje certain to miss out due to being on the Lions tour (almost certainly) and George Martin being injured, there will be a space available for someone to take the reins and make an impact.
Importance of future development
A lot of talent is coming through the ranks and with this tour being less results-focused than a lot of the other fixtures that England play, it provides a way to give the youth a chance.
This tour provides a chance for Steve Borthwick to experiment for the future, and with a few key positions needing a bit of work, it could give players the opportunity to get their foot in the door.
Freddie Steward has been questioned a lot at fullback, and as mentioned, Joe Carpenter would be the logical inclusion for this tour, after Marcus Smith’s positional experiment there for the Six Nations went well, but not seamlessly.
The main position that this tour is going to help with is in the centres.
Ollie Lawrence is injured, but his partnership with Henry Slade has been questioned at Test level in general.
Candidates
There is Fraser Dingwall, who was called up for the Six Nations, a consistent performer who may not have star quality but is consistent and can deliver solid performances whatever the scenario.
Then you have Max Ojomoh, who as mentioned is much more exciting and if put with a powerful 13, could properly form a formidable partnership.
Seb Atkinson for Gloucester could be that powerful player, as the 6ft 2 centre is such a strong runner and has been unreal with Chris Harris for the Cherry and Whites this season.
George Skivington admitted that he has spoken to Steve Borthwick about him, so a chance could be on the horizon.
Younger players Joe Woodward and Rekeiti Ma’asi White are outside shouts, but if Borthwick wants to take a risk and blood a couple of huge talents, then these two could be on the plane to the Americas.
Aside from the centres, whoever is selected on this tour would have a great opportunity to put their name properly in the hat for some consistent Test appearances.
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