England coach talks up 6ft 5in wing’s humility and desire
Door closed on Tom Willis but left ajar for Owen Farrell
England could fast-track the Saracens teenager Noah Caluori into the Test spotlight as soon as next month following the wing’s dramatic start to his top-level club career. The 19-year-old celebrated his first Prem start with five tries against Sale Sharks on Saturday and the national coach, Steve Borthwick, says he is already in contention for a senior England debut.
It was impossible to miss Caluori’s aerial ability and eye for the try line at the weekend with the former Lions captain Sam Warburton describing the 6ft 5in tall youngster as “almost undefendable” and “an absolute diamond”. England have been aware of his potential for a while and it seems that some game time against Fiji a fortnight on Saturday is not impossible.
Borthwick certainly did not pour cold water on the idea after calling up Caluori to a three-day training camp in Bagshot. “I think he could certainly feature this autumn,” said the head coach. “He has been on the radar for a considerable period of time. It was over a year ago that I started getting sent footage from [the RFU’s] Conor O’Shea, Mark Mapletoft and Jonathan Pendlebury. They were talking about him among a group of other players on the pathway.”
