The reason England have dropped Sam Underhill

Bath flanker more expendable than one might think for a player who is widely respected around the world

Among the natural reactions to Sam Underhill’s absence from the first England team of a pivotal autumn was to wonder what injury he might have picked up in training. Because for the 28-year-old to be missing from a side featuring five back-rowers – six if you count Nick Isiekwe – is quite a shock.
Underhill had started all eight Tests in 2024 prior to this campaign. He has evidently worked on his breakdown spoiling, finishing second only to arch-poacher Will Evans for jackal turnovers per 80 minutes in the Premiership last season.
When England needed an emergency lock for a scrum against Wales after being reduced to 13 men, Underhill stepped up. Line-out jumping is another asset that he has honed and he seems more comfortable than ever on the ball. Remember his one-handed offload to Maro Itoje in the lead-up to George Furbank’s try against Ireland?
Last time @GeorgeFurbank faced Irish opposition 🔥The @SaintsRugby fullback is set to start against Leinster in the @ChampionsCup semi-final 👊 pic.twitter.com/0e3jXJEGQH
Then again, Underhill does often appear to be more expendable than one might think for a player who is widely respected around the world and, when fit, has put in commanding performances at the top level since.
He was discarded from last year’s World Cup shake-up at an early stage, to the bare shock of colleague Ben Earl. His name was not among the 17 to receive an enhanced elite player squad contract on Friday. Clues have been there, though for him to be dropped entirely, from a side that has a six-two split of forwards on the bench, is still surprising.
Recovery from ankle surgery has compromised Underhill’s early season, restricting him to a single start and two more cameos for Bath. But he was sharp and imposing against Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop and several others, such as Henry Slade and George Martin, have been picked despite enduring lay-offs.
Another potential factor is a desire on England’s behalf to load up on jackalling. This might have made it difficult to retain a starting back-row combination of Chandler Cunningham-South with both Underhill and Earl, because referees do not appear to appreciate the latter’s technique around the tackle area. More than once, at key moments in Test matches, Earl has been penalised for failing to support his bodyweight.
Notwithstanding his improvements, Underhill is probably not quite as natural a scavenger as either Tom or, particularly, Ben Curry. Besides offering intuitive link play and specialist skills at the base of scrums, Alex Dombrandt is a crafty jackaller as well.
During his first press call as Steve Borthwick’s new defence coach earlier this month, Joe El-Abd declared that there were ways in which England could improve. That was pretty punchy, given only 40 points had been conceded across two matches in New Zealand. But the All Blacks were cuter and more disruptive on the floor and emerged on the right side of refereeing calls.
“The back row is important in that [defensive] system; how they get off the line, how they tackle, how they slow the ball down, how disciplined they are,” El-Abd said three weeks ago.
We have seen enough to suggest that Tom Curry will be catapulted into the England mix whenever he is healthy enough. His presence on the summer tour, on the back of a domestic season comprising just 34 minutes for Sale Sharks, underlined as much. Ben has been reliably excellent in the Premiership for half a decade. Can he translate that influence into Test matches? He is certainly a player with real poise.
England harried the All Blacks in Dunedin and Auckland with ultra-aggressive line-speed, stifling the passing of their opponents. However, they perhaps could have threatened the ruck more consistently over the course of the series. Underhill’s omission, while somewhat startling, may hint at a bid to impede the flow of New Zealand’s attack more regularly in a disciplined and accurate manner.
Invariably, the attitude of asking for forgiveness rather than permission is the way to rule the breakdown at the top level. Borthwick has spoken about this trend quite openly. Put simply, as long as their jackallers adopt reasonable body positions, teams tend to be rewarded for committing to the contest and pressurising the ball.
Australian Angus Gardner is in charge on Saturday, and will need to scrutinise a fierce scrap on the deck. England will hope that spoiling helps them get off to a winning start.