When Tom Willis contacted Steve Borthwick to tell him he was headed to France next season and the England head coach responded by omitting him from his squad, the autumn internationals sands shifted.
Only Borthwick will know for sure whether he would have picked Willis at No 8 against Australia in the opening match but there was a fair chance. With the form he has been in for Saracens and the lead he provided in Argentina in the summer, he would almost certainly have made a very good fist of the Quilter Nations Series too but his impending departure across the Channel changed the game.
Instead, Ben Earl was handed the jersey and he responded by being arguably England’s man of the autumn.
There were a few other contenders in a successful campaign but for sustained influence, the Saracen was untouchable.
Earl scored his seventh Test try to set England on their way to victory over Australia in their first autumn Test (Photo Paul Harding/Getty Images)
Man of the match in the first two matches, he topped England’s ball-carrying statistics in all four and led the tackle count against Argentina last weekend with 25.
On both sides of the ball, he more than seized his moment.
It was entirely appropriate that he was the one to boot the ball into touch to put the full stop on the high point of England’s autumn, the win over the All Blacks.
While he will never bring the close-quarters battering ram qualities of Willis – he is two stones lighter than his club-mate – the dynamism Earl brings to England as a ‘seven-and-a-half’ offers the side an interesting alternative.
He’s a unique player and a brilliant player – he brings a huge amount of energy to any team.
If England play kick high and gather up the crumbs, which was their predominant tactical approach against Argentina, having energetic hunter-gatherers like Earl is a bonus.
If they switch to a more land-based game, then his ball handling and thrust is a good fit too.
The centre cameos – a position he played in his youth – merely underline his range.
If Earl is not the picture of a caricature England No 8 – a Dean Richards or Billy Vunipola – then that is perhaps a reflection of the times as much as the available stocks.
Saracens and England team-mate Jamie George thinks that Earl’s squat stature works for him as international No 8 in the current era.
Earl played a leading role in England’s memorable victory over New Zealand (Photo Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
“He is different – he uses his footwork – but I think that is the way the game’s going now,” said George.
“I think the top end of the game is getting faster and it’s getting played at a lower level in terms of height.
“Ben’s not overly tall but he’s very fast and elusive and that lends itself to being good at the top level.
“He’s also incredibly powerful – he makes good dents in the middle of the field. Often with athletic back-rowers, you say: ‘Go and stand out on the wing towards the edge’ but he does his best work when he’s in the middle of the field, and that’s what I think England have identified and certainly Saracens have been looking to do the same.
Earl’s pace off the mark means the collisions, while less route one in nature, more often than not come on his terms. In the crucial area of post-contact metres, he made 48 in that win over the All Blacks.
Coaches love a bang-the-door-down bruiser for the good reason that they offer a straightforward way to create an indentation in a defensive line and front-foot ball.
Earl finds a way around that with his pace off the mark meaning the collisions, while less route one in nature, more often than not come on his terms.
In the crucial area of post-contact metres, he made 48 in that win over the All Blacks.
If the lineout options are restricted in picking a 6ft tall No 8, Guy Pepper’s understated excellence at blind-side flanker solved that particular problem.
The experiment with Chandler Cunningham-South against Fiji – when Earl reverted to his club position of No 7 – hinted that Borthwick may still instinctively yearn for more size at the back of the scrum. But the Cunningham-South selection felt like more of an emergency cover experiment.
Tournament squads need options for unexpected eventualities and Cunningham-South – a flanker for Harlequins – has now been tried both at second row and No 8 by England, possibly with an eye on him as a World Cup utility man.
All Black Hoskins Sotutu, who won his last cap in November 2022, has an English mother and could add to England’s No 8 options if he moves to a Prem club (Photo Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
Should a Prem club be successful in landing the English-qualified Hoskins Sotutu from the Blues, as several are attempting to, the landscape could change.
But for the time being Earl would appear to have a clear run at No 8 looking towards the Six Nations as he nears a half-century of caps for his country.
His first 15 came off the bench. It wasn’t until the World Cup warm-up game against Wales two years ago that he was trusted by Borthwick to start for the first time.
That was far from an easy period as he struggled to carve out his own niche.
He has well and truly done so now.
What has helped him on his journey has been his belief, not just in himself – although that certainly sustained him when the door to a starting place with England stayed closed for so long.
Earls is part of an England side which, from being unable to buy a win 12 months ago, has forgotten how to lose. And that, of late, has been in no small part down to his labours.
Earl cites his Christian faith as an important element in keeping perspective on the days when rugby does not go to plan.
He has a fellow believer in the England pack in Maro Itoje, who sometimes attends the same church in Notting Hill.
Whatever the Almighty’s plan for his future, the present could hardly look rosier. He is part of an England side which, from being unable to buy a win 12 months ago, has forgotten how to lose. And that, of late, has been in no small part down to his labours.
Whether Earl is the long-term solution at No 8 we will see, but he could not have done much more this autumn to show his value.
It may not be textbook, but it is mightily effective all the same.
No Willis, no worries for Borthwick and England.