Ollie Lawrence and Elliot Daly have lost their enhanced England contracts as Steve Borthwick promotes a new group of emerging players, offering an early indication of the hierarchy he intends to take toward the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Steve Borthwick has delivered one of the clearest signals yet of how he intends to shape England for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, removing Ollie Lawrence and Elliot Daly from the group of 25 players awarded enhanced Elite Player Squad contracts for the 2026-27 season.
The decision does not formally end either player’s international prospects, but it carries considerable significance. England’s enhanced contracts are reserved for a limited group regarded as central to the national team’s planning, giving Borthwick greater influence over their medical management, conditioning and preparation while providing the players with guaranteed payments.
With the World Cup in Australia now little more than a year away, the composition of that group offers perhaps the strongest indication yet of which players currently sit at the heart of Borthwick’s plans.
Lawrence’s omission is particularly striking.
The Bath centre has previously been one of England’s most powerful midfield options and played a significant role during Borthwick’s tenure. His combination of direct carrying, defensive physicality and ability to break the gain line made him an important element of England’s attacking structure, while his experience included a place in the squad that finished third at the 2023 World Cup.
Yet injuries and competition in midfield appear to have altered the landscape. Lawrence suffered a serious Achilles injury against Italy during the 2025 Six Nations before eventually returning to international rugby, and although he has subsequently produced strong performances, he now faces increasingly intense competition for the No. 12 jersey.
Seb Atkinson’s elevation onto an enhanced contract is particularly significant in that context.
Atkinson is one of five players newly awarded deals alongside Alex Coles, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Guy Pepper and Jack van Poortvliet. Their promotion represents a deliberate injection of players who have either established themselves during the current international cycle or are seen as capable of becoming increasingly important by the time England arrive in Australia.
Atkinson’s progress has made England’s midfield considerably more competitive. His ability to carry through contact while contributing as a distributor has given Borthwick another option at inside centre, and his inclusion suggests that he has moved ahead in the selection hierarchy.
For Lawrence, losing the contract therefore represents more than an administrative change. It indicates that a position once appearing relatively secure has become contested at precisely the moment England are beginning to narrow their World Cup plans.
Daly’s exclusion is similarly noteworthy, although for different reasons.
Few players in the England squad offer his versatility. Daly has played centre, wing and full-back at Test level and has long provided Borthwick with an experienced option capable of covering several positions within a matchday squad.
That flexibility has historically made him particularly valuable in tournament rugby, where injuries and limited squad sizes place a premium on players who can operate in multiple roles.
His removal from the central-contract group therefore suggests that versatility alone may no longer guarantee a position among England’s preferred core.
At 33, Daly also belongs to a different stage of his career from many of the players being promoted. The decision indicates that Borthwick is increasingly balancing experience against the need to build a squad capable of maintaining form and physical resilience through next year’s World Cup.
Neither Lawrence nor Daly has been ruled out of selection.
Enhanced contracts and England squads are not identical. Players outside the 25 can still be selected for Tests and, ultimately, for the World Cup. But with Borthwick expected eventually to choose a 33-player squad for Australia, the contracted group inevitably functions as an important guide to his current thinking.
The wider changes underline that point.
Five players have departed the contracted group: Lawrence, Daly, Ben Curry, Tom Roebuck and Tom Willis. In their places come Atkinson, Coles, Opoku-Fordjour, Pepper and Van Poortvliet.
Each change tells a slightly different story.
Northampton lock Alex Coles has forced his way into the central group after becoming increasingly prominent in England’s pack. His mobility and lineout ability provide Borthwick with another option alongside established locks such as Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum and George Martin.
Asher Opoku-Fordjour represents a longer-term investment with potentially significant World Cup value. Still only 22, the prop can operate on both sides of the scrum, a rare form of versatility that can be particularly useful when constructing a tournament squad with limited numbers.
Guy Pepper’s inclusion reflects the continuing competition within England’s back row, while Jack van Poortvliet’s return to the contracted group strengthens his position behind Alex Mitchell in the scrum-half hierarchy.
The five promotions collectively suggest Borthwick is no longer simply rewarding established international reputation. He is identifying players whose recent performances, physical profiles and positional value fit the squad he expects to need in Australia.
That process inevitably creates casualties.
Ben Curry has been affected by injury, while winger Tom Roebuck has encountered increased competition from England’s expanding collection of athletic outside backs.
Tom Willis presents a different case. His move to Bordeaux-Bègles in France has complicated his England eligibility and effectively removes him from the Premiership-based system around which the enhanced contracts are designed.
The contracts themselves have become an increasingly important instrument in Borthwick’s management of the national side.
Introduced under the Professional Game Partnership between the Rugby Football Union and Premiership clubs, the enhanced EPS system gives the England head coach greater influence over areas including sports science and medical planning.
Each contracted player receives approximately £150,000 annually rather than depending entirely on individual Test match fees, according to reports surrounding the latest selections.
For Borthwick, however, their strategic value may be even greater than their financial significance.
International rugby increasingly depends on controlling player workload. England’s leading players move repeatedly between club and Test environments, and the ability to coordinate conditioning, recovery and injury management becomes especially important in the season immediately before a World Cup.
The contracted 25 can therefore be viewed as England’s protected nucleus.
That makes the timing of Lawrence and Daly’s removal particularly revealing.
Borthwick is entering the stage of a World Cup cycle when experimentation gradually gives way to consolidation. Positions that once contained several plausible candidates begin to narrow, combinations become more important and coaches increasingly prioritize the players most likely to survive the demands of a seven-week tournament.
England’s ultimate World Cup squad will undoubtedly contain players outside the enhanced-contract group. Injuries, club form and international performances over the coming year will inevitably alter the hierarchy.
But Borthwick has effectively established a first circle of preference.
His choices also suggest that England’s recent evolution is accelerating.
Rather than relying entirely on the experienced core that carried the team through the 2023 tournament and subsequent campaigns, Borthwick is incorporating a younger generation around established figures such as Itoje, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, George Ford and others.
The objective appears to be continuity without stagnation.
England require enough experience to cope with knockout rugby but also enough athleticism and emerging talent to compete with teams whose playing styles have continued to develop rapidly since the previous World Cup.
The midfield may become one of the most closely watched examples of that transition.
Lawrence has the physical attributes and international pedigree to force his way back into Borthwick’s preferred group. A strong domestic season and consistent performances when selected for England could quickly alter the picture.
Daly’s path is more dependent on how Borthwick values experience and positional flexibility as the tournament approaches.
Both players therefore remain firmly within the wider World Cup conversation, but neither can any longer regard his position as protected.
That may be precisely the message Borthwick intends to send.
Central contracts provide stability, but selection remains competitive. Reputation accumulated over previous seasons cannot outweigh current form, fitness or the tactical demands of the team England are attempting to construct.
For the five newly contracted players, the announcement represents an important endorsement.
For Lawrence and Daly, it represents a challenge.
And for the rest of England’s squad, the broader message is unmistakable: with the 2027 World Cup approaching, Borthwick has begun moving from experimentation toward selection.
The final 33-man squad remains some distance away, but England’s internal hierarchy is already being redrawn.
