England made some impressive strides with a relatively young squad on their summer tour to Argentina and the United States. Lee Blackett has since been recruited from Bath to run England’s attack, which is a shrewd appointment, but his time to implement any new ideas before the autumn is limited.

So too is the time available to Steve Borthwick to reintegrate the senior players who were away with the British & Irish Lions and ensure England hit the ground running. They have not played together as a full strength side since the record win against Wales in the Six Nations last year.

England have sacrificed their usual pre-autumn training camp to squeeze in an extra fixture, against Australia at Twickenham on November 1. The squad will gather for a minicamp on Monday and Tuesday before reconvening on Sunday 26 to prepare for that Test.

England rugby head coach Steve Borthwick looks on, holding a rugby ball.

Borthwick’s England will face Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina in the autumn

GETTY

That limited build-up will influence Borthwick’s team selection, so too will the fact that Seb Atkinson, the Gloucester centre, has joined George Martin, Ollie Sleightholme and Harry Randall on the injured list.

In some positions England are blessed with a multitude of options, in others there is less to choose from. Here, The Times assesses Borthwick’s depth chart a fortnight out from the autumn internationals.

Props

Ellis Genge and Will Stuart return to the England fold as Test Lions. They are nailed on to start. Behind them, Fin Baxter is still only 23 but the Harlequins loose head was given some leadership responsibilities in Argentina and played well. As did Joe Heyes, who was Stuart’s tight head understudy in the Six Nations and must fend off the explosive talent of Asher Opoku-Fordjour and the set-piece power of Afolabi Fasogbon to retain that role.

Ellis Genge of the British and Irish Lions rugby team being tackled during a match against NSW Waratahs.

Genge, pictured against the NSW Waratahs, impressed for the Lions, appearing in all three Tests

DARRIAN TRAYNOR/GETTY

Hookers

Luke Cowan-Dickie is in line to win his 50th England cap against the Wallabies with Jamie George more likely to be deployed off the bench. The two Lions hookers remain ahead of Theo Dan, Curtis Langdon and Jamie Blamire. Nathan Jibulu, the new Sale Sharks recruit, has made a storming start to the season and could well feature in the England A game against an All Blacks XV.

Locks

Maro Itoje returns to lead England having captained the Lions to a series victory. With Martin, the Leicester Tigers lock, injured Itoje’s second-row partner is most likely to be Ollie Chessum. Behind them, Arthur Clark has been out with a broken foot and Charlie Ewels is also sidelined but Alex Coles finished last season superbly and Chandler Cunningham-South is emerging as a lock option. The destructive Harlequins forward has been playing second row and No8 for his club this season; he is rated highly as a lineout jumper and that versatility will be appreciated in the England camp. Ted Hill offers much the same but he has never quite won over the England management.

Chandler Cunningham-South of Harlequins is tackled by Owen Farrell and Nick Isiekwe of Saracens during the Gallagher PREM match.

Cunningham-South has played second row and No8 for Harlequins this season — that versatility could be valuable to England

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY

Back row

Borthwick has the freedom to consider Chessum, Cunningham-South and Hill as versatile back-five forwards because he has a stacked list of specialists. Tom Curry’s broken wrist is due to be fixed in time for the autumn after he carried it through the Lions tour and still played a starring role. His pain threshold is super-human. Ben Curry delivered man-of-the-match performances in the Six Nations. Ben Earl and Henry Pollock are now Lions. Guy Pepper starred in Argentina. So deep are England’s open-side flanker options that Sam Underhill did not receive an RFU central contract.

Tom Willis is the leading No8 candidate, with Earl also an option. Emeka Ilione from Leicester, Jack Kenningham from Harlequins and Jack Clement from Gloucester will be in the frame for England A selection. How much can a move to Northampton do for the England prospects of Callum Chick, a fine player and already a leader at Franklin’s Gardens?

Scrum halves

Alex Mitchell was selected for all ten matches on the Lions tour and played in eight. England love him because he sets the standards for speed of ball, both how quickly he gets to the breakdown and physically how fast he whips the ball away. Ben Spencer’s title-winning season ended with his first wins in an England jersey on the summer tour, where he was chosen ahead of Jack van Poortvliet. Randall is injured. Raffi Quirke, so highly rated but so unfortunate with injury, and Will Porter are England A candidates.

Alex Mitchell of Northampton Saints passes the ball during a rugby match.

Mitchell was in the squad for all ten matches on the Lions tour and will likely be the first-choice scrum half

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY

Fly halves

This is the toughest of all selection decisions and perhaps the one area where Blackett’s influence could be most keenly felt. They are all different in style. Fin Smith assumed the No10 jersey from Marcus Smith during the Six Nations. Both went on the Lions tour, the latter specifically because of his ability to cover No10 and No15. Meanwhile, in their absence, George Ford, more of a quarterback in style, continued his outstanding form through the summer tour, reaching a century of caps, coping stoically with being the best England player never to become a Lion. Fin Smith and Ford have both turned down R360 and committed to fighting for the No10 jersey. Borthwick may fall back on club connections given the prep time. With Mitchell at scrum half and Fraser Dingwall the likely inside centre, the smart money would be on Fin Smith starting at fly half.

Centres

If England are light in any area it is at inside centre. Dingwall’s importance to any team far outstrips his fame or reputation because of his ability to make those around him play better. The Saints midfielder is an unflashy but intelligent player, strong on communication and sharp in his ability to read the game. Atkinson came through well on the summer tour but he is now injured. Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade and Max Ojomoh can all play inside centre although England prefer them in the outside centre role, which has also been earmarked for Tommy Freeman at some point down the line. Lawrence will play after his recovery from a ruptured achilles, but alongside whom and in which jersey?

Fraser Dingwall of Northampton Saints passes the ball.

Dingwall is one of Borthwick’s limited options at inside centre

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY

This is where we get to the Owen Farrell questions. The former captain is eligible after his return to Saracens and he is playing inside centre. Does Farrell want it? He has been non-committal on that front. Does Borthwick want him? Not in the immediate term, presumably to allow others time to emerge. But he remains in longer term World Cup contention. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White is a bit further back but could be on a fast-track to Test selection over the next year given the power he brings at inside centre.

Back three

Like the back row, England’s options here are plentiful, varied and incredibly exciting. Freeman, who scored in every round of the Six Nations, is now a Test Lion. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, with his pace and X-Factor, has started the season in superb form. Tom Roebuck, a towering presence in the air and a clever finisher, took a major step forward on the summer tour. Cadan Murley and Will Muir were both in the previous training squad. Meanwhile, England’s fastest men Henry Arundell and Adam Radwan have both started the season with a bang; not to mention Ollie Hassell-Collins, who was joint-leading tryscorer in the Prem last season and didn’t even make it on the tour. Sleightholme will come back into the mix when fit.

George Furbank celebrates after Alex Coles scores the opening try for Northampton Saints against Bordeaux Begles.

Furbank had established himself as Borthwick’s favoured No15 but is struggling with injury

MATT IMPEY/SHUTTERSTOCK

Full back is slightly less clear with George Furbank struggling with injury. Elliot Daly was in prime form before breaking his arm on the Lions tour but should be fit for the autumn. Joe Carpenter is a similar mould and was capped on tour. Cut from a different cloth is Freddie Steward, who is world class under the high ball but less dynamic.

Possible England 23 to play Australia on November 1 (assuming fitness): Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Lawrence, Dingwall, Freeman; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart, Itoje, Chessum, T Curry, Earl, Willis.

Replacements George, Baxter, Heyes, Cunningham-South, Pollock, Spencer, Ford, Daly.

England’s autumn fixture listAll matches played at Twickenham and live on TNT SportsSat Nov 1 Australia, 3.10pmSat Nov 15 New Zealand, 3.10pmSun Nov 23 Argentina, 4.10pm