Scotland 'sniffing around' uncapped English trio at Sale

Sale Sharks backs Tom Roebuck, Arron Reed and Gus Warr are the subject of an international tug of war with Steve Borthwick warned that he will need to act quickly to tie down the trio.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend last week visited wingers Robeuck and Reed as well as scrum half Warr, who are all dual qualified. Borthwick has also recently travelled to Sale’s Carrington training ground to meet with Roebuck and Reed among other players. Next month both coaches will announce their squads for the Six Nations.

Roebuck enhanced his international credentials with a try-scoring performance in Sale Sharks’ Premiership defeat of Saracens last Friday. The 22-year-old was born in Inverness but grew up in Cheshire and has previously been called into a training squad under Eddie Jones.

Yet as long as he remains uncapped, he will not be bound to either country and Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson has alerted Borthwick to Scotland’s interest. “Roebuck was exceptional [against Saracens] – he could easily have got man of the match, especially with the try that he scored, he took about six people with him,” Sanderson said. “He’s been in good form all season so I’m sure he will be on England’s radar. Well, he is on their radar, so we’ll see what Steve [Borthwick] does.

“Gregor Townsend was sniffing around in the week. Steve keeps his cards very close to his chest, so he wouldn’t let me in [on his thinking] but I did ring him up just to let him know that Gregor Townsend has been in town. He has been down to meet them, so the ball is in Steve’s court now, isn’t it?”

Fin Smith could defect to Scotland

A similar tussle is emerging over Northampton fly half Fin Smith who was in Borthwick’s Six Nations squad this year. Telegraph Sport understands that Smith has been told that he will be guaranteed a place in Scotland’s matchday squad if he commits his allegiances north of the border while Owen Farrell’s absence opens up an extra fly half space in England’s squad for the Six Nations.

Players such as Smith and Roebuck have been keen to keep their options open but even if they are not selected for the opening Six Nations games they could still be forced into making a decision by England A’s fixture against Portugal on February 25. Representing England A would ‘capture’ a player, meaning that, under World Rugby’s eligibility laws, they could not represent another country for three years, even if they remained uncapped at Test level.

Ben Curry bulks up to catch England’s eye

Another player who could come back into the frame for England’s Six Nations squad is Sale flanker Ben Curry. The twin brother of Tom, who is likely to miss the rest of the season with a hip injury, played in four matches in this year’s Six Nations in Borthwick’s first campaign in charge.

However, he was not selected for the World Cup squad and was told to become more physically abrasive in defence. His response has been excellent. Last week Opta Sports released stats showing that Curry had made the most dominant tackles (41) of any player in the world in 2023 and the second most tackles per 80 minutes of players who have played more than 800 minutes.

As if to underline his case Curry delivered a man-of-the-match performance last Friday against Saracens vaunted back row in front of watching England coaches Richard Wigglesworth and Kevin Sinfield. “He’s well in the frame there, that’s what Steve said,” Sanderson said. “One of his improvements that England asked him to make was his physical dominance in defence. A stat came out this week that he has made the most dominant tackles in 2023.

“He is more tackle-focused than ball-focused. If you are a good jackaler, sometimes you are looking to pull them through and get on the ball, but he has worked on his mentality about what England want and he has bulked up a little bit. He’s grown a little bit. He loves that part of the game.

“He is fulfilling that role, which he hasn’t always been known for. He’s always been physical and good over the ball, but actual impact on the gainline – owning the gainline – he’s doing that better than anyone else. So what else does he need to do?”