Former England boss Clive Woodward has argued his case for 19-year-old PREM Rugby sensation Noah Caluori to be given a Test debut by Steve Borthwick against the Springboks in July.<\/p>\n
Borthwick\u2019s position is still the subject of an RFU review following his team\u2019s fifth-place finish in the recent Six Nations<\/a>, a campaign that started with a comfortable win over Wales and was followed by defeats to Scotland, Ireland, Italy and France.<\/p>\n England<\/a> are scheduled to return to the pitch in July for their opening three fixtures in the new Nations Championship, and Woodward has called on Borthwick to be bold and pick the teen Caluori for their tour opener in South Africa.<\/p>\n Including the youngster for the following week\u2019s match against Fiji in Liverpool has potentially been spoken about as the best place to give Caluori<\/a> his debut, but 2003 World Cup winner Woodward wants to see him involved a week earlier against the Boks in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has been handled well to date\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Insisting in his latest Daily Mail column<\/a> that age should be no barrier to selection, the retired coach, who gave Jonny Wilkinson his Test debut as an 18-year-old in 1998, claimed that the time was ripe to get Caluori into the thick of it on the field.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was sensible Caluori got a taste of the senior England set-up last autumn and then played for the A team during the Six Nations,\u201d wrote Woodward. \u201cHe has been handled well to date, both by Mark McCall at Saracens<\/a> and Steve Borthwick with England.<\/p>\n \u201cBut now is the time to give Caluori a first cap. I would bring him straight into the team for England\u2019s next game \u2013 the blockbuster Nations Championship clash with South Africa in July.<\/p>\n \u201cThat statement is based on two points. The first is that Caluori clearly has the skills to excel in an England shirt. The second is that only by playing him can you find out what he can do at the highest level. If Borthwick\u00a0\u2013 so long as he survives the RFU\u2019s badly misguided post-Six Nations review into his position\u00a0\u2013 thinks he\u2019s ready, then I would urge him not to delay.<\/p>\n Jack Willis on \u2018making peace\u2019 with England career, that Ireland rumour and the Toulouse player who is \u2018the scariest but nicest bloke at the same time\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSome people would say giving Caluori a Test debut against the double world champion Springboks in their own backyard would be brave, or even brainless. But as a coach, you have to be more pragmatic than that, looking at only the facts and not taking in too much emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n Woodward explained he has been captivated by the \u201cwow\u201d moments that Caluori has produced for Saracens<\/a>, scoring 18 tries in nine appearances. It\u2019s an impact he felt \u201ccan\u2019t be ignored\u201d, but how would the England selection be reshuffled to accommodate the teenager?<\/p>\n Impressed by the recent form of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso<\/a>, Woodward named him as one of his wingers in South Africa and then, to free up a spot on the other wing for Caluori, he suggested that Borthwick consider Tommy Freeman as a midfielder and not as pick out wide.<\/p>\n \u201cEngland have lots of good wingers,\u201d he continued. \u201cImmanuel Feyi-Waboso was a huge miss during the Six Nations, but he has been in superb form for Exeter since returning from injury and is a certain summer starter.<\/p>\n PREM Rugby Team of the Week: Maro Itoje \u2018at his absolute best\u2019 while England prodigies \u2018announce themselves\u2019 to Steve Borthwick<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTommy Freeman is also on fire for Northampton, but as I have long maintained he should start at outside centre. That leaves a spot on the right wing, with Caluori facing competition from the likes of Tom Roebuck and Henry Arundell.<\/p>\n \u201cCaluori has had a stronger season domestically than both of them. He has the ability to bring a real excitement to this England team alongside Feyi-Waboso, and that will be much-needed after the Six Nations which was more than disappointing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Caluori is still very young and has lots of room to grow, he has all the attributes of a top-end wing. He is incredibly fast and, as he proved against Leicester, an exceptional finisher.<\/p>\n \u201cCaluori is also exceptionally good in the air which is now, unfortunately, a big part of the game. Caluori\u2019s defence has improved across the season too.\u201d<\/p>\n Exeter player ratings: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso \u2018a real life cheat code\u2019 but \u2018lash out\u2019 costs Chiefs after late \u2018turn on\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Further emboldening Woodward\u2019s case for Caluori\u2019s inclusion was the manner in which Australia went about defeating the Springboks at Ellis Park last August in the Rugby Championship.<\/p>\n He felt that the way the Wallabies played in their comeback victory was the way for Borthwick to plot an England victory at the same ground.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Australia can down Rassie Erasmus\u2019 men in South Africa \u2013 as they did in last year\u2019s Rugby Championship, stunning their hosts 38-22 having trailed 22-0 \u2013 then so too can England.<\/p>\n \u201cThat Wallabies performance was full of attacking verve and can be a blueprint for England because with Feyi-Waboso, Caluori, Freeman and George Furbank in their team, England can certainly play the same way. Now that is a side I would have liked to coach!<\/p>\n \u201cBorthwick is certainly under pressure after a Six Nations of just one win, but South Africa represents a chance for him to blow all that criticism away in the space of just 80 minutes. Caluori can be central to that plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a>\u00a0for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n