The strain is on England forward of a Six Nations marketing campaign the place solely an upturn in fortunes will do for head coach Steve Borthwick.
England have misplaced seven of their final 10 Exams, together with three on the spin within the autumn at Allianz Stadium.
If Borthwick is to show he’s the best man to steer the brand new World Cup cycle then England should hit the bottom operating, however they’ve zero room for manoeuvre in a brutal opening set of fixtures.
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The gauntlet has been laid down by a gap conflict in opposition to Eire in Dublin, earlier than France after which Scotland journey to Twickenham with the potential to create extra issues for Borthwick.
And if that was not already exhausting sufficient, an premature harm disaster on the eve of the event has made England’s quest for a primary Championship in 5 years that bit tougher.
Six Nations 2025 fixtures: England
- February 1: Eire (a)
- February 8: France (h)
- February 22: Scotland (h)
- March 9: Italy (h)
- March 15: Wales (a)
The Itoje period
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Maro Itoje will lead England right into a Guinness Six Nations for the primary time as captain after a shock management overhaul by Borthwick.
Former captain Jamie George, who has since been dominated out of the event by harm, had been in cost because the 2023 World Cup however has been changed by his Saracens team-mate.
It’s the first time Itoje has been give the function, though he took over from George when the hooker was substituted in video games, and the 30-year-old lock continues his rise as a pacesetter having been put in as Saracens skipper at the beginning of the season.
Itoje’s promotion to the captaincy on the expense of George could also be indicative of the strain Borthwick is underneath, however the head coach will want greater than a change of chief to encourage a turnaround.
Will England realise potential underneath new captaincy?
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England head coach Steve Borthwick believes ‘world-class’ Itoje can get ‘even higher’ following the announcement he was named England captain for Six Nations
Itoje has made realising England’s potential his primary precedence after being put in as captain for the Six Nations.
“This Six Nations is large for us. It isn’t essentially about silencing critics or something like that, it is about attaining what we need to obtain as a workforce,” Itoje stated.
“To succeed you’ll want to win. We need to develop, develop and progress. To do these issues we have to get the best outcomes.
“England have the potential to do nicely and win in opposition to all of the groups. We need to fulfil our potential and take a step in the best course. That can be judged by how profitable we’re.
“Now we have fallen brief over the past 12 months within the remaining levels of video games. Whereas I believe we’re on a optimistic trajectory, it requires extra to get the outcomes you need.
“We have to work tougher in virtually all features as a result of we’re not the place we need to be. To get to the place we need to get to, we have to do extra.”
Lions watch – Ollie Chessum
Ollie Chessum is amongst a number of gamers from the 4 residence nations auditioning for a spot on the British & Irish Lions’ 2025 tour to Australia in the course of the Six Nations
The Leicester ahead is competing in a ferocious space of the squad in opposition to the extra established Tadhg Beirne, who supplies the choice of a second row who can play blindside flanker, however a match Chessum may nonetheless be an asset to the Lions.
Chessum’s work charge is important for England, protecting an enormous quantity of metres, filling in gaps in defence and bringing line pace.
Whereas not as bodily as a few of his rivals, his mobility allows the collection of larger gamers round him. Avoiding harm has been a problem and he’s coming back from a knee drawback.
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Watch the Lions tour of Australia reside on Sky Sports activities in 2025
Mitchell returns to health to spice up England
England’s prospects of inflicting an upset of their Six Nations opener in opposition to Eire have improved after Alex Mitchell was cleared to participate in Dublin.
Mitchell grew to become a doubt for Saturday’s Aviva Stadium showdown after struggling a knee harm on European obligation for Northampton in opposition to Munster on January 18.
However England’s first-choice scrum-half has now been added to the 36-man squad that’s in Girona getting ready for the match, clearing the trail for his return in opposition to the event favourites.
Mitchell replaces uncapped Saints team-mate Henry Pollock within the squad and is anticipated to be given the No 9 jersey when Steve Borthwick names his workforce on Thursday.
It will likely be his first look since going through New Zealand in Auckland in July after a neck harm dominated him out of your entire Autumn Nations Collection.
Alex Mitchell is in rivalry to function in England’s Six Nations opener in opposition to Eire in Dublin
Mitchell’s significance to England was underlined all through November when his menace across the fringes and good decision-making had been sorely missed in defeats to the All Blacks, Australia and South Africa.
In his absence not one of the options within the place – Ben Spencer, Harry Randall and Jack van Poortvliet – had been convincing and the hierarchy under him stays unsure.
Spencer, Randall and Raffi Quirke are competing to supply scrum-half cowl from the bench with Van Poortvliet dominated out in opposition to Eire although harm.
England’s Six Nations squad
Forwards: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester), Arthur Clark (Gloucester), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale), Tom Curry (Sale), Theo Dan (Saracens), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Joe Heyes (Leicester), Ted Hill (Tub), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Curtis Langdon (Northampton), George Martin (Leicester), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale), Bevan Rodd (Sale), Will Stuart (Tub), Tom Willis (Saracens).
Backs: Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton), George Ford (Sale), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), Ollie Lawrence (Tub), Alex Mitchell (Northampton), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol), Tom Roebuck (Sale), Henry Slade (Exeter), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton), Fin Smith (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Tub), Raffi Quirke (Sale), Freddie Steward (Leicester).
Championship document
Outright titles – 29 (Six Nations in daring)
1883, 1884, 1892, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1930, 1934, 1937, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1980, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2020