Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Charlie Bracken and Archie McParland have been named in England’s training squad as Steve Borthwick prepares for the inaugural Nations Championship.
Bristol centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg will complete his five-year residency requirement on July 8 — four days after England’s opening match against South Africa in Johannesburg on July 4 — but the RFU successfully lobbied World Rugby to bring his eligibility date forward from November. Pretoria-born and a former London Irish signing in 2021, he played once as a substitute for South Africa under-20s in 2016 and is now seen as a potentially important midfield option in the run-up to the 2027 World Cup. Van Rensburg will not be available for the South Africa game but could make his England debut against Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on July 11.
Charlie Bracken, the son of former England scrum-half Kyran Bracken, has earned his first senior call-up and will join teammates at the RFU Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park for the short camp. Young Northampton back Archie McParland, who made his Saints debut as a 17-year-old in September 2022, is also included.
The squad brings an international return for highly rated lock George Martin, who is called up for the first time since February 2025 after a long injury lay-off. Martin missed 14 months of action because of knee and shoulder problems but has recovered to return to contention.
Winger Noah Caluori, previously selected last autumn, is also in the squad after a prolific season for Saracens — including stints in the Championship with Ampthill on dual registration — and has been scoring freely in all competitions.
Notable omissions on this occasion are Bath duo Ollie Lawrence and Henry Arundell. Both were left out on form rather than injury, with their absences described as surprising by some observers.
Sky Sports News correspondent James Cole said Van Rensburg’s selection is “interesting and exciting.” Cole added: “He’s six foot tall, he’s 17 stone, he’s a very imposing physical ball carrier, he’s also got a really good offloading game too and defensively solid. We thought he would be available in the autumn, but actually he’s going to be available sooner, this summer. He won’t be available for the South Africa game but he will be for the games that follow against Fiji and Argentina, and the fact he’s in this squad suggests Borthwick has every intention of blooding him. He has that typically South African attribute of immense physicality and for that reason is a really exciting prospect.” Cole also noted the surprise omissions of established names such as Ollie Lawrence and the in-form Henry Arundell.
England training squad ahead of the Nations Championship:
Forwards: Jamie Blamire (Leicester Tigers), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Beno Obano (Bath Rugby), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby), Kepu Tuipulotu (Bath Rugby).
Backs: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Charlie Bracken (Saracens), Noah Caluori (Saracens), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), George Furbank (Northampton Saints), Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears), Archie McParland (Northampton Saints), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Adam Radwan (Leicester Tigers), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).
Rehabilitation: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks).
Not considered for selection: Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Will Muir (Bath Rugby), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby).
England’s Nations Championship fixtures:
Round One: July 4 – South Africa vs England (Johannesburg)
Round Two: July 11 – Fiji vs England
Round Three: July 18 – Argentina vs England
Round Four: November 8 – England vs Australia
Round Five: November 14 – England vs Japan
Round Six: November 21 – England vs New Zealand
The training squad will meet at Pennyhill Park ahead of the summer programme, with Borthwick set to use the Nations Championship to assess options and blood new talent as he builds toward the next World Cup cycle.