England already had plenty of wing talent to choose from in the upcoming autumn series before the amazing 19-year-old Noah Caluori scored five tries on his first Premiership start, in Saracens’ 65-14 win over Sale Sharks on Saturday.
Earlier the same day, two wing contenders with great straight-line pace – Leicester’s Adam Radwan and Bath’s Henry Arundell – fought a fascinating duel in front of new England attack coach Lee Blackett to prove which of them should join the nailed-on Tommy Freeman, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tom Roebuck in the national training squad to be named on Sunday evening, and updated a week later.
Arundell has been clocked at 23mph this season and his touchline sprint burnt off two Leicester forwards in a try by Bath centre Cam Redpath.
But Arundell and the equally rapid Radwan – who likes to scurry infield, stepping and jinking – also showed how difficult it can be for a Premiership wing to find space or get into the game.
How Caluori stunned Sale
Caluori dives over for one of five tries on a full debut to remember (Photo: Getty)Then along came Caluori as a 6ft 4ins bolter to plant his flag in the artificial Saracens turf.
A bolter, that is, to those who missed him shining in England’s age group teams from Under-17s to the 20s last season.
Caluori, whose surname comes from a Swiss father, can give England what Roebuck of Sale also provides, and maybe more: a tremendous aerial ability, with incredible hang time, as Caluori showed in catching or batting back a stream of kicks supplied by Saracens’ Fergus Burke and Owen Farrell.
For Saracens to base this game plan around Caluori showed how much they rate him, and it was match-changing even before Sale were depleted by a 20-minute red card to Luke Cowan-Dickie and a yellow to Tom O’Flaherty.
The latter conceded a penalty try when he was beaten to the punch and comprehensively out jumped by Caluori.
And then there were those five tries the youngster claimed for himself, with foot speed and anticipation of the bouncing ball, a smooth sidestep and an obvious relish for scoring and playing to the cameras that had garnered him 23,500 followers on TikTok even before this.
He had a sensational score away to Newcastle in the first round of this season’s Prem, when he swooped on a kind bounce to skilfully volley the ball and gather.
Then Caluori made a quieter substitute appearance in a big win over Bristol, followed by nabbing two tries on loan for Ampthill against Cornish Pirates in the Champ, while Sarries were losing at Harlequins.
‘I’m lost for words’
Whistled back into the first team at Saracens – who have Elliot Daly and Tobias Elliott injured, otherwise this might not even be happening – Caluori stunned the TNT Sports summarisers with his feats against Sale.
“To get five tries on your first start… I’m lost for words,” said Chris Ashton, the ex-Saracens wing and the Premiership’s record try scorer. “He [Caluori] has glided past people with ease.”
Sam Warburton compared Caluori’s emergence to generational talents George North, Israel Folau and Joseph Sua’ali’i – and the ex-Wales captain said England should banish their traditional conservatism and call the youngster in.
It is a valid view, as surely a 36-man training squad, ahead of facing Australia at Twickenham on 1 November, has room to nurture one or two top newcomers alongside the more established names.
Even if the Saracens boss Mark McCall preached caution when he said: “This kid has got a lot of things to work on. We should enjoy him but allow him to grow in the right way.”
McCall’s Sale counterpart Alex Sanderson said: “Five tries? Jesus. He beat us alone in that sense, if you look at the scoreline. He’s a rare talent.”
England’s wing contenders
Nailed-on picks
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso Tommy Freeman Tom RoebuckChasing pack
Henry Arundell Paul Brown-Bampoe Noah Caluori Ollie Hassell-Collins Will Muir Adam RadwanInjured
Elliot Daly Will MuirWho else is in the running for England?
Arundell may be England’s quickest wing but there are reservations about his game (Photo: Getty)Feyi-Waboso’s high worth to the England head coach Steve Borthwick was obvious when the Exeter Chiefs wing was taken on the recent summer tour despite being free to play in only one match, in the USA, due to a ban.
Feyi-Waboso’s stellar career stalled with a dislocated shoulder last season but his dynamic work ethic was seen in two tries including one from a centre-field ruck on his club reappearance at Northampton three weeks ago. And he added a hat-trick of run-ins against Newcastle.
Still just 22, Feyi-Waboso deserves to remind the Test stage he is arguably the best all-round wing in the Premiership.
There are reservations about Arundell – in his kicking from hand and the space he sometimes leaves when he pushes up in defence – but he won a couple of aerial balls at Leicester to show his work in that area, and he merits another look by England after his return from Racing 92 in France.
As for Freeman of Northampton Saints, he was a Test Lion on the wing in the summer but he has been talking about a move into the centres.
Freeman, Feyi-Waboso, Roebuck and Daly hold enhanced EPS contracts with the RFU, so they should be in the autumn squad, subject to fitness.
Radwan’s Leicester colleague Ollie Hassell-Collins, Bath’s injured Will Muir and Exeter’s Paul Brown-Bampoe are other wings with standout attributes.
So while Feyi-Waboso and Freeman or Roebuck are in pole positions for the Nos 11 and 14 jerseys against the Wallabies in two weeks’ time, Borthwick has a load of other choices available, to which the new star Noah Caluori must be added.
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