Two shock picks flagged for England training squad - report

Head coach Steve Borthwick is set to make at least two shock selections when he names his wider England training squad which will be announced on Monday.

The Telegraph report that Danny Care and Zack Mercer are to be named in the squad.

Mercer hasn't featured for England since 2018 but becomes eligible care of his move from Montpellier to Gloucester this summer.

On the margins of the England squad under Borthwick's predecessor Eddie Jones, Mercer went to France and proved to be a catalyst for their winning the Top 14 in 2022.

His rapid ascension back into the training squad under Borthwick suggests he has a good chance to stake a claim for the wider Rugby World Cup squad, with England's back row diminished by injury and a general lack of form.

Care on the other hand is a more unlikely selection on the face of it. An elder statesman at Harlequins, the 36-year-old Care made a comeback under Jones in the tour of Australia in 2022, but was ignominiously hauled off early into his comeback. Still, he has continued to produce the good on the domestic front at least.

With the 33-year-old Ben Youngs still involved at Test level, it seems a tad extravagent for Borthwick to bring two heavily experienced nines to the flagship tournament, presuming the Cumbrian brings two to three scrumhalves to France.