{"id":924361,"date":"2026-10-11T15:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T15:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924361\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T15:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T15:16:17","slug":"england-one-cap-dark-horse-tipped-to-bolt-all-the-way-to-the-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924361\/","title":{"rendered":"England: One-cap \u2018dark horse\u2019 tipped to \u2018bolt all the way to the World Cup\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former England<\/a> out-half Stuart Barnes believes that Joe Carpenter can become Steve Borthwick\u2019s Rugby World Cup full-back.<\/p>\n

The rookie has been capped just once at Test level, last year away to the USA, but it is now speculated that a series of error-free performances with Sale can quickly lift him up the pecking order and into the England squad for next month\u2019s Nations Championship.<\/p>\n

Carpenter is set to go head-to-head against George Furbank, a more established England contender, when Sale host Harlequins on Sunday in the Prem at CorpAcq Stadium<\/a>, and Barnes reckoned it will be the ideal audition for Sharks\u2019 England hopeful.<\/p>\n

Writing in The Times<\/a> ahead of the round three English league match, he said: \u201cThis is an opportunity for the 24-year-old to enter the equation for a position that is up for grabs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaltry tally\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOpposite him is the man most expect to wear the No. 15 shirt for Steve Borthwick\u2019s hopefuls. George Furbank is a fine footballer, but for all his virtues he cannot be trusted to make the position his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why? Bad luck. Furbank has a \u201cpaltry tally\u201d of just 14 caps since debuting in 2020, with injury an all too often impediment.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old\u2019s most recent cap was in November 2024 versus Japan, and his selection to start against South Africa last July was wrecked by having to have his appendix removed and instead following the match from hospital.<\/p>\n

Rather than continuing to build his club connection at Northampton with Fin Smith, England\u2019s current first-choice No.10, Furbank has moved to Harlequins for the 2026\/27 season and will hope to build an understanding with Marcus Smith.<\/p>\n

Sam Underhill OUT: Ranking 11 England back-row options for November Tests as Steve Borthwick faces latest big call<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFurbank is a full-back with the mindset of a fly-half. He is a clever rugby player who has performed with a Saintly smile. Whether he can recapture his form at Harlequins is doubtful and \u2013 and if he can \u2013 whether an out-of-form full-back will be able to leave club concerns behind when England duty beckons is anything but guaranteed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barnes went to reference other potential full-back candidates, including Saints pair Tommy Freeman and George Hendy.<\/p>\n

Of Freeman, he said he is someone who \u201cremains an outstanding finisher with a brilliant aerial game that Fin Smith can find with his eyes shut\u201d and the uncapped Hendy \u201cdoesn\u2019t have much time to fiddle between wing for club and full back for country\u201d.<\/p>\n

Switching to Leicester\u2019s Freddie Steward and Saracens Elliot Daly, he added: \u201cUnless England revert to a limited game of set piece\/box-kick, Steward will struggle to force his way back into the elite squad.<\/p>\n

Shaun Edwards\u2019 coaching future decided as he joins Argentina\u2019s backroom staff alongside Los Pumas legend<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cElliot Daly, 34, is another talented but ageing utility player omitted from Borthwick\u2019s initial enhanced elite squad.\u201d<\/p>\n

For these reasons, Barnes felt the time was ripe for Carpenter to strike a telling blow with Sale and get himself in the England<\/a> squad for a campaign that begins next month versus Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was steady in Sale\u2019s 21-17 away win against Saracens last week, piecing together a typical Carpenter display of counterattack. He doesn\u2019t rip defences to pieces, but he can beat defenders in tight spaces to create space for those around him.<\/p>\n

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has fine footwork and plenty of pace, and the positional experience the Saints contenders lack. He is generally rock solid beneath the high ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he lacks is Test-match experience. If the dark horse can string together a series of error-free performances, mixed with the odd flash of magic on the counter from loose kicks, he could bolt all the way to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn outstanding performance on Sunday, thriving outside a George Ford with plenty to prove, could take him nearer the squad for November\u2019s Nations Championship and an opening fixture against England\u2019s potential World Cup knock-out opponents, Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: England: Steve Borthwick\u2019s assistant lands Top 14 gig opening the door for Shaun Edwards post-World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former England out-half Stuart Barnes believes that Joe Carpenter can become Steve Borthwick\u2019s Rugby World Cup full-back. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":924362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,1208,818,1182,492117,44,20248,760,176848,85,294269],"class_list":["post-924361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-england","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-joe-carpenter","tag-news","tag-premiership","tag-rugby","tag-sale-sharks","tag-sports","tag-stuart-barnes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/924362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}