Another week, another stunning trial for Henry Arundell, who started his life in Paris with Racing 92. In just three games, including one from the bench, Arundell showed the Racing faithful what many English fans saw as blindly obvious: give the 21-year-old the ball and he will deliver with tries.
He now has four players for his new club, including a stunning hat-trick on his debut, and it’s clear that Arundell has settled into a team that loves to put on a show at their storming home La Defense Arena. Stuart Lancaster has welcomed back Siya Kolisi to his side after further sparking star interest with a 32-10 win over La Rochelle on Sunday night, with both Englishmen seemingly already having success in Paris.
Relating to: ‘There’s no plan’: Frustration and challenge in the Rugby Championship
Arundell’s progress for the Race will be closely monitored by the Rugby Football Union, which has implemented the loophole in exceptional circumstances to enable him to play for England in the Six Nations. However, if he signs a contract with a Premiership club for next season, he will only be eligible for the summer tour to Japan and New Zealand. Bath and Gloucester are said to be potential suitors, with Arundell buying a season ticket as a teenager and attracting huge interest before agreeing to a move to Racing.
As much as the RFU would love to see Arundell develop in France, there is also a downside. Jack Willis’ consistent excellence at Toulouse last season (the club’s fans were stunned by his failure to make Steve Borthwick’s first-choice World Cup starting XV) could be considered an outlier in the sense that he was forced to make a move after Wasps. bankrupt.
Not all Britons abroad adapted so quickly to life in France; Even if Joe Simmonds is successful in Pau, David Ribbans and Joe Marchant aren’t quite pulling out the trees yet. However, if Arundell continues in a similar vein this season, it will start to look like a trend; England players not only maintain their standards in France, playing there also improves them. At this year’s Six Nations, Borthwick was asked whether Willis had become a better player during his time at Toulouse, and his hesitation was pregnant with twins, as he was well aware of the tightrope the RFU walked when it came to selecting players abroad.
At the time, Borthwick was adamant that he wanted to be able to select “the best players possible”; this was slightly different from the party line which now says “We want the best English players playing in England”. This situation was repeated almost word for word by Owen Farrell last week, with Saracens and England team-mate Maro Itoje facing the choice of a significant pay cut to stay where he is or gain his market value abroad. Under the current circumstances this is not enough to invoke exceptional circumstances – although the players have collectively argued to the contrary against the RFU – and so Itoje will be prevented from playing for England and receiving the lucrative match fees offered to a guaranteed starter . The solution may be for the RFU to rush through their “hybrid contract”, using Itoje as the poster child, but details are still very thin.
Back to Arundell and for now the RFU can hide behind the exceptional circumstances invoked due to the collapse of the London Irish at the end of last season. But problems would arise if Arundell, like Willis, decides that the grass is indeed greener outside England and chooses to remain in France next season, regardless of whether the hybrid contract offer comes in time, and decides how he will be used by Borthwick next term. The moon is likely to have a significant impact on your decision.
At the World Cup, Arundell scored five goals in a single match against Chile and had a despondent performance in the third-place match against Argentina. He had some good moments in his 10 appearances for England; He scored a stunning try with his first touch against Australia in July 2022; but he also featured for the Pumas against Wales in their World Cup warm-up preparations when he was shown a yellow card. Ireland looked like a fish out of water during the Six Nations. The common denominator in each case has been England’s failure to get the ball early and often; This raises the question of whether Borthwick really wanted Arundell at his disposal.
The head coach has spoken glowingly about the X-factor Arundell has, but privately some members of the England board are said to have doubts about his current suitability for the Test arena. There’s little doubt he’ll get there, but the uncertainty about his overall play will be consistent with the relatively small amount of minutes he’s been given at the World Cup.
Borthwick visiting him in Paris last week – taking the opportunity to also catch up with one of his predecessors, Lancaster – bodes well, but the evidence we’ve seen so far clearly shows Arundell doesn’t fit into the current England system. As one well-placed source explains, Jonny May is not among the Premiership’s top 10 wingers by most objective standards, but there are few players better when it comes to their discipline of tracking down shots and standing firm in defence. Elliot Daly was Borthwick’s preferred choice on the other wing in France and was someone with the rugby nous who could adapt his game to fit the kick-and-track mould. However, what a shame it was to see such a talented player put in a straitjacket, despite Borthwick’s insistence that his team “must take the ball into their own hands”.
May has taken a break from his England career so will be out of action during the Six Nations and if Daly fills the void left outside center by Marchant, who was unavailable because the Premiership club he left still exists, Borthwick will be looking for options in an area that has always been fluid during his tenure.
Critics argue that it doesn’t matter who England choose on the wing if they stick to a game plan of playing out of possession, but it would go a long way if Arundell gives his head and, more importantly, adopts a style that suits him. To determine the next stage in Borthwick’s evolution. This is a choice that takes on added significance because Arundell’s marginalization is already supported by fans who want more ambition as something that needs to change. It’s an argument that gains weight with every try he scores for Racing.
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