Five players get first England deals in Borthwick shake-up
· Yahoo Sports
England boss Steve Borthwick has shaken up his centrally contracted squad with just over a year to go until the Rugby World Cup.
Borthwick has announced the 25 players who will receive enhanced player contracts, worth around £150,000, for the 2026-27 season.
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Handed an elite deal for the first time are prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour, lock Alex Coles, flanker Guy Pepper, scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet and centre Seb Atkinson.
Flanker Ben Curry, versatile back Elliot Daly, centre Ollie Lawrence and wing Tom Roebuck all miss out on contracts, while France-bound number eight Tom Willis is no longer eligible for England selection.
Curry and Daly have both been hit by long injury lay-offs over the past year, while Roebuck and Lawrence have fallen out of favour after previously being mainstays of the side.
Willis was handed an enhanced contract this time last year after cementing his place in the England set-up at the start of 2025, but he has not played for his country since agreeing a shock move to Bordeaux for next season.
The enhanced contracts were introduced in 2024 as part of the new Professional Game Partnership between the Rugby Football Union and the Prem clubs.
It gives Borthwick the final say over medical and conditioning matters, with the 25 players all receiving a fixed amount of money from the RFU, as opposed to a game-by-game match fee.
It is understood the current match fee is around £21,000 per game for non centrally-contracted players, while the enhanced squad players still receive an extra £7,000 per game for image rights, on top of their fixed annual amount.
The RFU says the contracts "help ensure the best possible preparation for the England Men's team", but the new system has not been without teething problems, for example when Exeter and England clashed over the treatment of star wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso's shoulder injury in late 2024 and early 2025.
After a long winning run in 2025, England flopped in the Six Nations earlier this year, winning just one match, but recovered to win two out of their three Nations Championship games in July.
Borthwick's side host Australia, Japan and New Zealand this November in the northern hemisphere leg of the inaugural tournament.
Full list of England men's enhanced player contracts
Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Harlequins)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
George Martin (Saracens)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)