Another week, another stunning effort for Henry Arundell, whose start in Paris with Racing 92 could hardly have gone better. In just three appearances, one of which came from the bench, Arundell has already shown the Racing faithful what many England fans will find glaringly obvious: give the 21-year-old the ball and he will deliver with tries.
He now has four for his new club, including a breathtaking hat-trick on his debut, and it seems clear that Arundell has established himself in a side eager to put on a show in their thundering hometown, the La Defense Arena. Stuart Lancaster welcomed Siya Kolisi back to his ranks in the 32-10 win over La Rochelle on Sunday night to add further appeal, and it is clear that both Englishmen are already doing well in Paris.
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Arundell’s progress in Racing will be closely watched by the Rugby Football Union, which has applied the loophole in the exceptional circumstances to ensure he is available to play for England in the Six Nations. However, he will only be available for the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand if he has signed a contract with a Premier League club for next season. Bath – where Arundell held a season ticket as a youngster and where there was significant interest before he agreed to move to Racing – and Gloucester are said to be potential suitors.
As much as the RFU will enjoy seeing Arundell in France, there is a downside. Jack Willis’ consistent excellence for Toulouse last season – to the extent that the club’s supporters were dismayed that he could not feature in Steve Borthwick’s first-choice World Cup to make the switch after Wasps went bankrupt.
Not all Englishmen abroad have taken up residence in France so quickly – David Ribbans and Joe Marchant are not exactly felling trees yet, even if Joe Simmonds has excelled in Pau. However, if Arundell continues in the same vein this season, it is starting to look like a trend: English players are not only maintaining their standards in France, playing there is also making them better. During this year’s Six Nations, Borthwick was asked whether Willis had become a better player during his time at Toulouse and knowing full well how the RFU operate when it comes to selecting players from abroad, his break was pregnant with the Twins.
At the time, Borthwick was adamant that he wanted to be able to pick “the best possible players”, which is subtly different from the party line, which now states that “we want the best English players to play in England”. It was repeated almost verbatim by Owen Farrell last week, with his Saracens and England team-mate Maro Itoje seemingly faced with the choice of taking a significant pay cut to stay where he is or earning his market value abroad. As things stand, that is not enough to invoke exceptional circumstances – however much the players may have collectively argued otherwise to the RFU – and so Itoje would be prevented from playing for England and receiving the lucrative appearance fees collect money offered to a guaranteed starter. The solution could be for the RFU to rush through its “hybrid contracts” with Itoje as the poster boy, but details remain scarce.
Back to Arundell, and for now the RFU can hide behind its exceptional circumstances, invoked because London Irish went bankrupt at the end of last season. Problems arise, however, as Arundell, like Willis, decides that the grass is indeed greener outside England and opts to remain in France next season – regardless of whether the hybrid contract offer comes in time – and how he will move forward in the near future used by Borthwick. months are likely to have a significant impact on his decision.
While Arundell scored five tries at the World Cup – all in one match against Chile – his performance was a desperate one in the third against Argentina. He has had some fine moments in his ten games for England, scoring an enchanting try with his first touch against Australia in July 2022, but also against the Pumas, against Wales in the World Cup warm-up when he was booked and against Ireland during the Six Nations looked like a fish out of water. The common denominator on each occasion is England’s inability to get their hands on the ball early and often, raising the question of whether Borthwick really wants Arundell at his disposal.
The head coach has spoken highly of the X-factor that Arundell possesses, but privately some members of the England management are said to have doubts about his current suitability for the Test arena. There is little doubt he will get there, but the uncertainty over his all-round game is tied to the relative lack of minutes he got at the World Cup.
That Borthwick visited 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 makes it clear that Arundell is not a fit in the current English system. . As one well-placed source explained, Jonny May doesn’t make the Premier League’s top 10 wingers by most objective measures, but when it comes to the disciplines of chasing kicks and staying steadfast defensively, there are few better. Elliot Daly was Borthwick’s preferred choice on the other wing in France and is someone with the rugby intelligence to adapt his game to the kick-chase model. What a shame, however, it was to see such a gifted player shoved into a straitjacket, despite Borthwick’s repeated insistence that his side should “get the ball in his hands”.
May has now spent time on his England career so he will be off duty during the Six Nations and if Daly fills the void left by Marchant – who is unavailable for selection as the Premier League club he left still exists – outside the centre, Borthwick will be looking for options in a part of the field that has always felt fluid during his tenure.
Critics would argue that it won’t matter who he chooses on the wing if England continue with a ball-less game plan, but whether he gives Arundell his head, and more importantly, adopts a style that suits him, will go a long way to go. to determine the next stage in Borthwick’s evolution. It’s a selection that takes on added significance because Arundell’s marginalization is already being held back by supporters who crave greater ambition as something that needs to change. It’s an argument that gains momentum with every try he scores for Racing.
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