Seat on the Plane

The final round of the Premiership Rugby season has come to an end, and that means that as 4 teams prepare for the playoffs (and Gloucester for their season-defining European Challenge Cup Final), the attentions of other players and fans will be starting to turn towards the summer. This summer sees England go to the Southern Hemisphere for a 3-match tour: 1 Test against Japan and a 2-Test series against New Zealand. But who will be making the squad for these fixtures.

I have previously discussed how I feel that the summer tours are the perfect opportunity to rest the regulars after a long season and build depth in the national setup by taking the fringe players and those who were outside the squad but have impressed during the season. And while I doubt that will happen with a foe as mighty as the All Blacks, there are still players whose exploits this season could put them in with a solid chance of earning a seat on the plane this summer, especially once injuries, retirements and international exiles are accounted for.

So today I look at 5 players who did not feature in the Six Nations, who I feel have earned a call-up this summer. Let me know who you think should be on this list.

Curtis Langdon

While it is my belief that this is the summer where Theo Dan should finally overtake Jamie George as the starting hooker, England desperately need to increase their depth at this position. This time 2 years ago, Langdon would have been preparing to leave Sale for Worcester, unaware that just a few months later he would be left without a job as his new club collapsed. Luckily, he found employment in the Top14 for the rest of last season, before moving to Saints and becoming a key part of their 2023/4 season success that has seen them narrowly lose to Leinster in a Champions Cup semi and top the Premiership Rugby table. Previously capped against the USA and Canada in 2021, Langdon has developed so much as a player since then and, now aged 26, appears to be playing the best rugby of his life. His and Northampton’s success this year deserves to elevate him above other hopefuls like Jamie Blamire and Jack Walker.

Ollie Sleightholme

Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso may have earned the starting spots for now with their Six Nations performances, but Freeman’s fellow Saint Sleightholme surely deserves a chance in the squad this summer after helping fire Northampton to the top of the Premiership table. With 15 tries from 15 games this season (at time of writing), he is finally getting discussed as a potential option for England, but he has generally been prolific throughout his senior career, with 42 tries from 58 senior appearances (despite going scoreless in the 21/22 season). A solid all-round wing, Sleightholme deserves the chance to step up and see if he can replicate his form in the Test arena and should be looking to start against Japan.

Zach Mercer

Yes, Ben Earl is one of the form number 8s in Test rugby this season, but England would benefit from moving him to 7 and bringing in Zach Mercer at 8. Even on a bad day, he has been one of Gloucester’s stand-out performers following his return from France in the summer, despite injury and the disappointment of twice being let go by Steve Borthwick. A player who has stood out in both the Premiership and Top14 and has been integral to Gloucester’s run to the Challenge Cup final, he is a leader on the pitch and an incredible talent, able to tackle, carry, pass and even kick well, while his combination of strength and footwork sees him regularly break the gainline even from a standing start. A back row of Mercer, Earl and an enforcer like Cunningham-South could be deadly.

Harry Randall

A player who I have been a fan of since his days at Hartpury, Randall was the first of his generation of 9s coming through to break into the England squad, playing 4 out of 5 games in the 2022 Six Nations, but injury saw him fall down the pecking order. Now, he is back to his best with Bristol, where he can manage the game with good kicking while also being a constant threat around the fringes and supporting on the break. With Ben Youngs and Danny Care gone, England need to look at their options. Ben Spencer is 32 this summer so there is no guarantee that he will be available come RWC2027, and while Alex Mitchell may have benefitted from his rival’s injuries to become the incumbent, I think that there are still questions about his game management, especially the kicking game. On the fringe of the senior squad during the 6 Nations, and eventually given the start for England A, Randall is in the mix and after a strong end to the season with Bristol deserves a chance to win the 9 shirt back, while it also wouldn’t be a shock to see Jack van Poortvliet pushing for a return to the squad after injury denied him a spot in the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad.

Rusiate Tuima

It’s rare that Maro Itoje plays his best rugby for England, and the Saracen could probably deserve a summer off, while Ollie Chessum is missing the summer tour through injury. George Martin is the most likely to profit from this with a spot in the starting lineup, with Saints’ Alex Coles also looking to get more Test minutes under his belt, but Tuima would be a smart option to take on tour. While England have some fantastic technical locks and some incredible engines, Tuima offers the size and heft in the tight five that we see teams like South Africa and France regularly deploy to dominate the set piece and put them on the front foot in attack. Tuima has the chance to do that for England, while also exploiting his offloading ability and dynamism in the loose from his years playing in the back row. One of the stars of England A’s farce of a match against Portugal, he deserves the chance to step up to the Test arena like fellow Exeter kids Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza and Ross Vintcent have done over recent years.