Steve Borthwick has urged his England side to set their sights on winning the Six Nations title in Paris on the final weekend, as he named a 36-man squad featuring three uncapped players. England have not won the championship since 2020 and last achieved a grand slam in 2016, but Borthwick believes his team can end that drought on Super Saturday.
The head coach named uncapped props Billy Sela, 19, and Emmanuel Iyogun, alongside Exeter flanker Greg Fisilau, 22, in the squad. George Furbank returns after injury layoffs, while several players including Fin Smith, Ollie Lawrence, Fin Baxter, Tom Roebuck and Ben Curry will undergo rehabilitation at a warm-weather camp in Girona next week.
Injuries to Will Stuart and Asher Opoku-Fordjour have opened the door for Sela, while doubts over Baxter's availability for the opener against Wales on 7 February have led to the inclusion of Trevor Davison and Iyogun. Borthwick acknowledged the front-row disruption may require tactical adjustments.
“We met a couple of weeks ago and we talked about the Six Nations Championship,” said Borthwick. “We know it’s tight, we know there’s lots of good teams in it. On 14 March in Paris, we want to be in a position entering that game where we can achieve what we’re all aiming to achieve.”
Borthwick also encouraged fans to travel to Paris for the final match, saying: “We want England fans flooding across the Channel to Paris to come and watch the team in a massive encounter.” He added that the team must take each step one at a time and prepare properly for the tournament opener.
Reflecting on the growing expectations around his side, Borthwick said: “I think it is brilliant that people are talking in that way about this England team. They can see the development of the team and they can see the talent that’s in the team. I want them to attack this tournament, come in with a mindset to play brave and attack.”
