Following the announcement of England’s 2025 Six Nations squad, we pick out our winners and losers from Steve Borthwick’s selection.

The England boss has been forced into some changes ahead of the northern hemisphere’s premier international competition while he has also made a tweak in leadership.

In some cases, he has also rewarded club form but overlooked others despite some standout performances for their Premiership teams.

This year’s Six Nations will also be seen as an opportunity for players to put their hand up for a spot in the British and Irish Lions tour while England as a team will be more focused on improving on their 2024 form, which included a run of five straight defeats and a third-place finish in the Championship.

So without further ado, here are our winners and losers.

Winners

Maro Itoje

We start with the obvious one. Maro Itoje was always going to be selected in the squad as he continues to set the standard for England locks. However, this Six Nations, he will have the added responsibility of leading the team.

Ex-England boss Eddie Jones questioned the second-rower’s leadership ability a few years ago but not too long after, in 2021, he back-tracked on his assessment with Itoje maturing as a player in a quick space of time.

Fast forward four years and Itoje gets the honour of leading his country in a major tournament and frankly, rightly so. England fell off a cliff in the final quarter of most Test matches last year and perhaps that was partly due to Jamie George’s exit from proceedings.

The ᵴtriƥping of the captaincy from George could benefit the Saracens hooker who has stiff competition for his role now but also it will allow England to have one man to turn to for an entire 80 minutes as Itoje rarely doesn’t start and finish Tests.

Putting the demotion of George on pause until later on, Itoje is richly deserving of this honour. He not only sets the standard that England players should be held to but drives them as well. The added pressure of captaining an international team can go either way but generally when it is given to someone of Itoje’s character, more often than not it elevates their game.

“With 88 England caps, Maro has been a central figure in this squad for many years, bringing a vast amount of experience both on and off the field,” Borthwick explained on his decision to hand the captaincy to Itoje.

“He’s a calm, influential leader, renowned for his commitment to upholding high standards and his ability to motivate those around him.

“His strong rapport with the squad and coaches, combined with his leadership experience at Saracens, makes him ideally placed to take on this responsibility.

“I’d like to recognise the outstanding leadership of Jamie George, whose contributions as captain have been significant and will continue to play an important role as a vice-captain.”

Ben Curry and Alex Dombrandt

The England loose forward stocks are bursting at the seams which is highlighted by Borthwick’s selections, even without Sam Underhill, which makes Ben Curry and Alex Dombrandt’s inclusions as winners all the more significant.

Both players earned caps mostly from the bench in 2024 and while they have had shoots of silver linings in the Premiership, their Test form leaves much to be desired.

Put frankly, the pair need to start replicating the best of their Premiership form in the white jersey particularly off the bench as England continue to struggle to finish off games well. If not, then Borthwick will have to make a call or one will be made for him.

Joe Heyes

More on Dan Cole later on but 2025 is a massive opportunity for Joe Heyes to stake his claim as an international tighthead prop.

The Leicester Tigers man hasn’t been all too convincing in the build-up to the Six Nations but the lack of depth in the front-row for England has been an eyesore in recent seasons, highlighted by the need to get Cole back in and extend his international career.

With Kyle Sinckler not available as he tears up trees in the Top 14 for Toulon and the next generation still finding their feet at Premiership level, Heyes is well placed in that middle ground and has a huge opportunity now.

Ted Hill

Speaking of opportunities and Ted Hill has a huge one as he finally gets another crack at making the matchday 23 for England.

While it is not an out-and-out swap for Underhill, he has surely benefitted from his Bath teammate’s absence and will now vie for the blindside flanker role with Harlequins star Chandler Cunningham-South.

Hill has always had the raw potential to be a Test match animal but has rarely got his opportunity at the highest level and off the back of a strong form at club level, he gets his shot. Now it’s up to him to take it by convincing Borthwick in training and then on the pitch.

Asher Opoku-Fordjour

After earning a cap off the bench in the victory over Japan, rising star Asher Opoku-Fordjour retains his place in the squad as Borthwick ushers in the next generation of English props.

With Joe Marler now retired and Cole missing out on the squad, England need the new breed to set up and Sale’s rising star has the raw goods to get the job done. At 20 years old, he is incredibly green for a Test prop forward but he has shown scrummaging abilities beyond his years and while he might get overlooked for much of the tournament, time in the camp is invaluable at this stage of his career.

Tom Willis

It’s hard to argue that any other player in the squad is more deserving of a call-up than Saracens tyro Tom Willis. He has been in spellbinding form that simply could not be ignored.

Halfway through the Premiership season and he tops the charts for carries (159), gain line carries (64) and defenders beaten (55) but is no slouch on defence, ranking third for tackles made (135) and joint-sixth for turnovers won (8).

This should have made him an automatic selection but he has failed to convince Borthwick previously. He now has a huge opportunity to shift the perception in training.

Oscar Beard and Fraser Dingwall

The starting England midfield is far from a foregone conclusion and that is clearly seen by Oscar Beard and Fraser Dingwall’s inclusions.

The pair have been consistent performers for their clubs this season despite the indifferent results. It will be a tough challenge for the exciting centres to usurp the likes of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade but they are certainly capable of doing so. They will just need some faith from the coaches which may come if things continue to go pear-shaped.

Elliot Daly

Along with Willis, Elliot Daly is another richly deserved recall after his sterling performances for Saracens this season. The Londoners have struggled with injuries at full-back but Daly has risen to the challenge and continues to switch positions in the backline with little to no fuss.

Once a nigh-on automatic starter for England, Daly has struggled to crack Borthwick’s team but can offer immense value if called upon with his versatility and booming boot.

Losers

Jamie George

While George has maintained an incredibly high standard in his performances, there is clearly doubt about his position in the squad.

As mentioned above, perhaps Borthwick wants a skipper that will play an entire 80 minutes of a Test match which is a massive ask for a modern-day hooker, never mind one that is 34 years old.

George now joins the ludicrously long list of vice captains that Borthwick employs and has the chance to focus a bit more on his game, with Luke Cowan-Dickie looking back to his old heights before his torrid neck injury while Theo Dan continues his rise.

Dan Cole

As much as Borthwick would want him to, Dan Cole simply cannot play for England forever. The 37-year-old has been a wonderful servant to England Rugby over his storied career and his return to the set-up after Eddie Jones discarded him was as close as a front-row forward is going to get to a Cinderella story but the clock looks to have struck midnight for Coley.

There is no doubt that the tighthead prop will go down as one of the greats of English rugby and much like Ben Youngs, Danny Care, Courtney Lawes and other veteran players in the squad, it’s seemingly Cole’s time to step aside for the next generation.

Injured stars

While Borthwick has a mostly clean bill of health in his player pool there are three key setbacks in the form of George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Underhill.

The trio were all standout performers in the white jersey last year and would have fancied their chances of pressing to earn a red one through their Six Nations form.

For Feyi-Waboso, he has gambled on getting his injury sorted now and hoping that Lions boss Andy Farrell will consider his club form and previous Tests when selecting his squad while Furbank and Underhill were always outside bets.

Ben Spencer

A driving force in Bath’s success this season, Ben Spencer has been the victim of Alex Mitchell’s return to full fitness.

One of Spencer, Harry Randall and Jack van Poortvliet were always going to fall out of the squad and ultimately Borthwick has opted for the Bath man.

It’s clear that he did not do enough against the likes of New Zealand and Australia in the autumn and looks to be the scapegoat for those results.

Henry Pollock

While there are litterings of youth spread throughout the squad for this Six Nations, Northampton Saints’ rising star Henry Pollock can count himself rather unlucky to not be involved again.

He has mixed it up well with some of the best the Premiership has to offer and impressed in the Champions Cup too.

Jack Kenningham

Speaking of some of the best back-rowers that the Premiership has to offer, Jack Kennigham is very much of that pedigree.

Not only has he led the league for turnovers won but has been superb at lineout time and a work-horse on defence. While Quins have endured a mixed run of form all season, he has been consistent and has really thrown his hand up for a recall to the squad.