In terms of Test fixtures, it is a full year since the international retirement of Courtney Lawes and England have not yet nailed down a long-term replacement.

That much is unsurprising. Lawes bowed out after the 2023 World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa as an undoubted modern great with 105 caps. Having refined various aspects of his game, he left a huge void at blindside flanker.

Lawes was a one-man mechanism for balancing forward packs because he covered so many bases: line-out jumping, breakdown disruption, stopping power in defence and dextrous link play in attack as well as understated yet uncompromising leadership. Mobile athletes standing 6ft 7in are reasonably rare, even before one considers the other attributes.

Across 12 matches in 2024, Steve Borthwick fielded four different players in the No 6 jersey. Ethan Roots had the first three games before Ollie Chessum finished the Six Nations against Ireland and France. Chandler Cunningham-South was given the entirety of the summer tour and the beginning of the autumn until Tom Curry started against Japan.

Three of those men – all except Roots – as well as Ted Hill, are part of Borthwick’s wider squad for the Six Nations. No selection is made in isolation, especially in the back five, but the identity of England’s blindside flanker will inform team tactics and the influence of that player will go a decent way towards determining their hopes of success.

The man in possession: Tom Curry

Tom Curry is technically the incumbent after his shift from openside to blindside flanker for the defeat of Japan, following his divisive return from the concussion he suffered against Australia. This was a prime example of tailoring the line-up to an opponent.

Essentially, it demonstrated that Borthwick was happy for Maro Itoje to run the line-out without an elite jumper in the back row to complement George Martin. None of Tom Curry, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl is taller than 6ft 1in, though the first two have become reliable outlets. As it happened, an ankle injury to Underhill brought Cunningham-South into the fold early on anyway and Japan were thrashed 59-14.

Retaining Tom Curry at blindside flanker against Ireland and France – two teams with multiple disruptive jumpers – would be a risk. To secure their own ball, England would either need to rely on intricate routines such as inset lifts (where a forward begins in the receiver position and joins the line-out to hoist a team-mate) or deploy an extremely simple plan and throw to the front as often as possible.

The presence of Dan du Preez at No 8 allows Sale Sharks to team up the Curry twins and Tom Willis has been jumping for Saracens, which could persuade Borthwick to stick with the twin openside approach. What you get with Tom Curry, whatever the number on his shirt, is boundless dynamism. Here, from a messy Toulon line-out, he tears through to thump Dan Biggar and would have forced a turnover but for a fumble:

England are bound to harry Ireland’s fly-half, whether that be Sam Prendergast or Jack Crowley, and Tom Curry has memories of winning in Dublin. Among his less heralded qualities are distribution and poise in open space. He has a major role for this Tom Roebuck try, receiving the ball on the left touchline and feeding Bevan Rodd before helping to transfer it over to the far flank from first-receiver on the next phase:

Much later, he presses out of the defensive line to lay on Roebuck’s second:

As blindside flanker, in harness with brother Ben or another agile operator, Curry gives England serious speed in phase play and transition situations.

Super strength: Relentless energy
Drawback: Implications for line-out strategy

The powerhouse: Chandler Cunningham-South

Cunningham-South picked an impeccable time to remind Borthwick why the England head coach fast-tracked him last year. Opposite a Glasgow Warriors back row of Scotland internationals in Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey, renowned for their doggedness as a combination, the 21-year-old produced several influential surges.

He scored from close range and later soaked up defenders to lift this offload for James Chisholm:

Cunningham-South seemed to be in something of a lull, yet burst into life a fortnight before the Six Nations; slightly bittersweet for Harlequins, perhaps, but perfect for Borthwick.

Boasting undeniable stopping power and size, Cunningham-South’s selling point is the ability to move bodies. Here, with the help of Tyrone Green, he deposits Kyle Rowe over the touchline to win back possession:

There were carries that breached the gain-line as Cunningham-South outmuscled upright defenders and, most impressively, the contributions kept coming. He lasted 80 minutes, topping the tackle count with 13. In the 72nd minute, Cunningham-South rose to nab this line-out…

…and was still pumping his legs from this pick and go in the 78th minute as Harlequins strived for a bonus point:

Going the distance in Test matches is another story, even if six starts in 2024 have helped to acclimatise Cunningham-South to the intensity of the top level. He may prove to be an ideal impact replacement – and, with versatile backs, England have the capacity to go with a six-two split of forwards on the bench – but could also be paired with two other back-rowers from the beginning as well.

Super strength: Winning collisions to shift momentum
Drawback: Still raw and learning on the job

The set-piece facilitator: Ollie Chessum

Lawes himself used a column in The Times to state that Chessum’s importance to England may be underappreciated during the autumn. Certainly, the line-out was as polished or prolific a platform as it has been. In the final quarter of their loss to South Africa, the hosts paid for a lack of variety around the opposition 22. They were shepherded to the front and threw to Cunningham-South for five line-outs in succession. The Springboks crowded them out expertly

Chessum is an additional caller to ease the pressure on Itoje. Theoretically, him being at blindside flanker behind a second-row duo of Itoje and Martin – or even in the engine room with Itoje shifting to the back row – would give England an imposing pack. Chessum started against Ireland and France last season wearing six, but had plenty of game-time under his belt at that time.

Before featuring in the first 54 minutes of Leicester Tigers’ thrashing in Toulouse on Sunday, Chessum had not played since Oct 20 because of a knee injury suffered during England’s training camp prior to the autumn schedule. This moment hinted at debilitating rust, because he is usually mobile and well balanced in defence. Jack van Poortvliet’s kick sails too long, yet Chessum is part of a disjointed chase and gets beaten by Romain Ntamack too easily:

Borthwick had the option of sending Chessum back to Leicester as he allowed Henry Slade to represent Exeter Chiefs prior to the New Zealand game in November. The England head coach has resisted, hinting at the value he places in the unit of Itoje, Martin and Chessum.

Here, Cam Henderson spins to lift Chessum and Martin shunts in to initiate a Leicester drive:

Tigers use Chessum as a pivot and break off to threaten the try-line, but Jack Willis barges into Henderson and eventually forces a turnover:

At full sharpness, when given room to stretch his legs, the latter can startle opponents with his pace. This finish against Samoa at the World Cup was impressive:

Borthwick has backed himself to prepare players for Test matches with intense training sessions. Chessum’s situation will put this under fierce scrutiny.

Super strength: Offers line-out variety
Drawback: Glaring lack of game-time

The people’s choice: Ted Hill

Two caps, each of them from the bench in matches against Japan and the United States during the Eddie Jones era, do not do justice to Hill’s prowess. To the relief of his many admirers, at least, he does appear to be creeping closer to Test involvement.

He was drafted in as an injury replacement to the autumn squad when Chessum and Charlie Ewels went down. Two months later, Hill is in the Six Nations mix from the beginning. In truth, his displays for Bath have demanded selection. This powerful run, on a clever hidden angle behind Beno Obano, pierced Saracens in the build-up to a Thomas du Toit try:

Against Leinster on Saturday evening, directly from the recovered kick-off, Hill migrated to the touchline and sprinted close to the whitewash prior to Alfie Barbeary’s close-range finish:

Such pace is also useful in broken-field scenarios, when chasing kicks and pressing out of the defensive line. Watch how Hill pressurises Sam Prendergast here, rushing the young fly-half and bringing about a poor pass:

Hill’s spring at the front of the line-out is excellent, and maybe more important if new laws lead teams to run quick drills after arriving at a set-piece. Early in the second period, this defensive jump gives Leinster scrappy ball:

England appear to view Hill as a six capable of covering lock, which improves his chances of making match-day 23s. He is probably the most classical blindside flanker in the squad as far as the attributes he offers to a back row. On paper, he would complement an agile, scavenging openside and a bopping No 8 perfectly.

Borthwick has shown a penchant for picking athletes – Theo Dan, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Cunningham-South – and hoping to develop them from a technical and tactical standpoint. In Hill, he might see a compelling project.

Super strength: Immense athleticism
Drawback: Could lack cohesion with new colleagues