Tom Willis has been left out of England’s pre-autumn training squad after agreeing a move to France from Saracens.
Willis’s club confirmed on Saturday that the No 8 would be leaving at the end of the campaign, with a deal believed to have been agreed for the 26-year-old to re-join Bordeaux-Begles.
The news comes as a major blow to Steve Borthwick, who had handed Willis an enhanced EPS contract worth around £160,000 in August but has now found that the back rower has removed himself from 2027 World Cup consideration with player based outside England ineligible for international selection.
Borthwick has elected not to include Willis in a 36-player group that will assemble at England’s Bagshot training base on Sunday to begin preparation for Quilter Nations Series’ fixtures against Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina.
There is no place, either, for Owen Farrell, with Borthwick sticking with Fin Smith, George Ford and Marcus Smith as his fly half options, but Henry Arundell is recalled after an impressive start to the season with Bath in the Prem along with fellow speedster Adam Radwan.
Young gun Noah Caluori, who scored five tries for Saracens in an eye-catching performance against Sale, will join up with the squad to aid his development, though is not officially included in the group. Tom Curry, Elliot Daly and Jack van Poortvliet will all be at Pennyhill Park, too, to continue their rehabilitation.
Willis’s departure is a major disappointment for Borthwick having started the No 8 five times this year, including in both wins on the tour of Argentina in July. Ben Earl looks likely to begin November at the base of the scrum, while Chandler Cunningham-South – included despite an injury scare against Exeter – and Henry Pollock are other options including in this training squad. Alex Dombrandt was not considered for selection due to injury.
The decision of a player coming into their prime to head to the Top 14 could also be seen as a blow to the Rugby Football Union (RFU), who had introduced the enhanced EPS contracts in the hope of keeping the 25 contracted players in the country by offering greater financial security to a key core of Borthwick’s squad.
Willis, though, enjoyed a productive stint in Bordeaux after the demise of Wasps in 2022, and has watched brother Jack thrive in France with Toulouse over the last few years. The elder Willis sibling was named Top 14 Player of the Year earlier in October, but has been ineligible for England selection since the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
England begin their autumn campaign against Australia at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday 1 November.
Forwards
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Emeka Ilione (Leicester Tigers)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)
Backs
Henry Arundell (Bath Rugby)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks)
Adam Radwan (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Rehabilitation: Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).
Not considered for selection: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), George Furbank (Northampton Saints), Ted Hill (Bath Rugby), Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Will Muir (Bath Rugby), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints).
