After a promising Six Nations campaign and summer tour, the platform is there for England to take the next step in what is set to be an intriguing autumn.
Fourteen England players were picked for The British & Irish Lions last summer underlining there is no shortage of talent, and converting that through statement victories against southern hemisphere giants is the order of the day.
After the Lions Tour, the next World Cup will come into sharp focus and this autumn is the first step on the journey.
The schedule
England start against old rivals Australia, who left Allianz Stadium with a stunning against-the-odds victory a year ago. Just four months on from the Lions tour, this should carry some extra spice.
Fiji always pose a challenge and won on their last trip to London two years ago, before the real acid test awaits against New Zealand in a match that seemingly guarantees drama.
The two sides have played six times in the last decade and five of them have been settled by less than a score – with two one-point margins, a two-point gap and even a 25-25 draw.
New Zealand have tended to edge those contests, making their match on November 15 a key measuring stick for where England are, before they finish off against an Argentina side they beat twice in the summer despite being without their Lions players.
Squad news
Much of the build-up will centre on who plays at fly-half, with three high-quality options who have all made strong starts to the PREM season in 2025 tourists Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, plus George Ford.
Fin is the current custodian after making the starting jersey his own in the Six Nations, while Marcus’ flair and ability to conjure something out of nothing will always make him a popular option.
Lions hero Tom Curry is on the injury list alongside his brother Ben, while Tom Willis’ decision to leave Saracens for France means Steve Borthwick’s back-row options are theoretically lighter.
But when you have Ben Earl, Henry Pollock and Sam Underhill as flanker options in addition to breakthrough candidate Guy Pepper, plus the power of No.8 Emeka Ilione, it may be barely noticeable.
Alex Mitchell will likely be the starting scrum-half, while Ollie Lawrence is back to add some thrust to the midfield after snapping his Achilles in the Six Nations.
Lion Tommy Freeman has become Mr. Consistent for England and is likely to start on the wing, while there is a lot of attention of 19-year-old Noah Caluori, who has been fast-tracked into the senior set-up.
The Saracens winger scored five tries against Sale Sharks last weekend to set tongues wagging and is in the squad as a development player.
Year to date
With four wins from five, the Six Nations can be considered a success for England – especially as they lanced a boil in the Calcutta Cup, beat France at the death and put Wales to the sword.
Their only defeat was to an experienced Ireland in what was a bearpit of an Aviva Stadium on the opening weekend.
They backed that up with a steely 2-0 series win in Argentina when they were without 14 players who were with the Lions. Eight years ago, a similar series success increased the depth at England’s disposal and helped them to reach the World Cup final two years on.
Borthwick and co will hope history can repeat itself.
What they said
England head coach Steve Borthwick: "There's a lot of depth developing across many positions, which gives me the kind of problems you really want to have as a head coach.
“When you start picking a team and you're picking good players, you're leaving good players out as well."
On Caluori: "I think the rate of his development has accelerated over these last number of months. That's great credit to him and great credit to the club.
"That's always important, those first steps when you're in an international environment, because there's no doubt it is different to a club environment. I think he already has respect for him, the ability and talent he has.
"I think it's certainly a possibility [he plays for England this November]. I think if you start looking at the number of options we have on the wing, there's some good players in that position.”
