The Saints back row has been on the verge of England selection for a while without quite cracking the squad. Given that Curry and Earl are unavailable, his exclusion seems strange to say the least. He has been a crucial player for Northampton and has recently returned to full fitness. Pearson would bring carrying ability and all-round power that England could lack with their current forward options.

England's summer starts with an uncapped game against France which is followed by two games in Argentina. It will end in Washington DC with a test match against the USA Eagles. Previous tours of this kind have unearthed the likes of Tom Curry, Jonny May and Billy Vunipola. This shows the importance of this series for periphery players to gain the trust of Borthwick and for England to develop its depth of internationals. There will obviously be several places up for grabs with England having 13 players selected for the squad as well as two more already joining up with the Lions who might join in for the full tour. With that in mind, let's take a look at who is in the mix for each of those spots, as well as selecting a travelling squad. Borthwick has already named a training squad from the six teams who didn't make the playoffs but I'll be selecting a full squad for the entire summer.

On Saturday Leicester and Bath will go head-to-head for the ultimate domestic glory in England. These two sides are packed full of stars so let's take a look at who stands out at each position.

On Saturday, two giants of English rugby will go head-to-head at the Allianz Stadium to determine who will be crowned Champions of England. Bath will go into the game as favourites having lead throughout the season but Leicester are not a team to be written off. After all, when the Tigers won their last Premiership title in 2022, they went into the game as underdogs behind Saracens. That game ended with a last-minute drop goal by Freddie Burns clinching victory so we can only hope for as dramatic an ending this time around. 

This weekend teams will play their final game of the regular season; by Saturday evening, four will have earned the right to play another. Bath have lead from the front all the way and have already secured top spot. Newcastle have already had another last-place finish confirmed with Falcons supporters no doubt only interested in rumours of a Red Bull takeover of the club. Exeter have also had their fate confirmed and have reacted by firing two coaches, moving Rob Baxter back to a more hands-on coaching role and increasing overall spending. Northampton were already out of the running and were only focused on their Champions Cup run which ended in defeat at the final in Cardiff. Harlequins are also out of playoff contention having bizarrely chosen not to go for a bonus point in their final home game. Harlequins could finish as high as 5th, although that seems unlikely, but that would make no difference to their overall outcome. They and Northampton have clinched Champions Cup places for next season whereas Exeter and Newcastle will have to settle for the Challenge Cup. So, all of that means that there are 5 teams with nothing to play for in the final round so half of the league has everything on the line. 

Leicester 44 - 34 Sale

Andy Farrell selected a strong, 38-man squad for the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia but, inevitably, some big names missed out. Below I'll go through the five players I thought were unlucky to miss out as well as taking a guess at what kept them from making it.

On Thursday the 8th of May at 2pm, Andy Farrell will announce his British and Irish Lions squad for their tour to Australia later this year in front of a crowd that will hopefully be somewhere in the region of 2,000 people. In this post I go through the biggest contenders for each position in the 37-man squad and give my choices. 

On Friday night, Sale and Saracens met in a battle of Premiership heavyweights and Sale came out on top. It was a tight game with the separation being Sale's physicality and some individual brilliance from Aaron Reed who pretty much ran the length of the pitch to score for the home side. This win continues Sale's impressive run of form which looks to be setting them up in good position for a home playoff game if they can squeeze past Leicester. Saracens, meanwhile, are still firmly in the hunt but will have to regather themselves after a significant knock-back.

Kickoff: 7:45pm Friday