“Saracens newest star” – 5 Uncapped England Hopefuls who Impressed in Round 3 of the Premiership

The third round of the Gallagher Premiership has been and gone, with five England hopefuls once again putting their hands up for a call into Steve Borthwick’s squad. Whilst the following five players have not been named in England’s pre-Autumn Nations Series camp, the door remains ajar if any untimely injuries rule out the selected squad members.

Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

England are currently in the midst of an acute injury crisis, with the likes of George Ford, Alex Mitchell and Tom Curry all unavailable for selection. Add in the latest announcement, as after picking up a ribcage injury in last weekend’s win against Harlequins, lock Alex Coles has departed the England camp, and has been replaced by Bath and Saracens locks Charlie Eweles and Nick Isiewke.

The full list of injured England players reads as follows, with Leicester lock George Martin, Exeter’s Henry Slade and the Harlequins duo Alex Dombrandt and Luke Northmore rehabbing with the squad. Joe Cokanasiga, Ben Curry, Tom Curry, George Ford, Alex Mitchell, Will Muir Max Ojomah, Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd are all unavailable for Autumn involvement.

So, if the current injury rate continues for Steve Borthwick’s side, we could well see some additional faces called into camp ahead of the Autumn Internationals. As is the way with professional sport you have to strike when the iron is hot, and England could go far wrong than selecting any of the following five uncapped hopefuls, for an outside shot at a Test debut. These are the five England hopefuls who impressed, in the third round of the Premiership.

1. Sam Graham (Northampton Saints)

Kicking off the short-list is Northampton Saints back row Sam Graham, who took home the Player of the Match Award from Friday night’s win over Harlequins. Despite being 27-years-old and a Premiership player for four seasons, Graham has not been capped for England, with the likes of Billy Vunipola, Ben Earl and Alex Dombrandt taking hold of the eight jersey. With Dombrandt out with a hand injury and Vunipola now illegible after his move to Montpellier, Graham could get a shot to reinforce the back row ranks at the height of the Autumn season.

Graham scored a try in the win against Harlequins, and battled his way to 37 gain-line metres having dug in for 16 carries. Nine tackles on the defensive side of the ball to boot, the back row was tearing up trees at the Gardens last week. Northampton Saints Director of Rugby Phil Dowson commended the number eight’s man of the match performance after the match:

“I think if the game had gone another way, I think Will Evans and Marcus Smith (could have got man of the match). But yeah Sam kept turning up, carried a lot of ball and looked like he made a lot of dents and you know what you are getting from Sam, his work-rate is outstanding.”

CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

The post “Saracens newest star” – 5 Uncapped England Hopefuls who Impressed in Round 3 of the Premiership appeared first on Ruck.