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The accolade of winning his 50th England cap, against Argentina at Salta in June 2009, is only one chapter in the ongoing success story of Steve Borthwick.

That match was his 14th as England’s captain, a run dating back to the Italy game in Rome in February 2008 that his side won 23-19. A model professional, Steve led England to second place in last season’s RBS 6 Nations Championship, having inspired Bath Rugby to a 24-16 win over Worcester Warriors in the 2008 European Challenge Cup final – his last game for the club after ten years

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A prime force in Leicester Tigers’ armoury, Dan Hipkiss has bounced back after being cruelly deprived by injury of a place in the England tour party to New Zealand in 2008.

After sustaining a fractured cheekbone in the Guinness Premiership final immediately preceding the trip, Dan took an enforced rest before adding to the six caps he won in 2007 with another off the bench against New Zealand last autumn. His first Test start in 22 months followed in the first of the two matches against Argentina at Old Trafford in June 2009. 

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After playing in 11 of England’s past 13 Tests, Danny Care has become an established member of the Elite Player squad. His senior status developed from multiple national honours at age-group levels, including captaining the Under 20s in all five of their 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship matches.

He also represented England Under 16, 18s and 19s before appearing for the England Sevens side that won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. His previous Sevens experience was with the England Under 19s in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Australia two years earlier.

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With Lee Mears away on duty with the British & Irish Lions in South Africa in June 2009, the first of two new opportunities beckoned for Dylan Hartley. First, he made his first Test starts for England against Argentina. (Dylan had won all his previous nine consecutive caps, starting with the Pacific Islanders’ match in autumn 2008, off the bench for Lee.)

Then, a few weeks after returning from Argentina, Dylan was handed the responsibility of captaining Northampton Saints – a reward for his recent development and growing maturity. When appointed to the role, he had made 89 appearances and scored nine tries in four seasons.

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Warrior spirit and an insatiable appetite for work – along with his innate skills – are the keys to the success of Joe Worsley. All were evident when, on his debut, he helped the British & Irish Lions to beat South Africa 28-9 in the third Test in July 2008.

Since joining London Wasps from Welwyn Garden City at the age of 16, Joe has built a formidable career that has made him eighth in England’s all-time cap list, a ranking he shares with former England captain Will Carling. Ten of his matches were in the RWC, including three in the 2003 tournament in which England beat Australia 20-17 after extra time in the final.

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The word ‘unique’ should be used sparingly but Jonny Wilkinson qualifies for that description. His kaleidoscope of national and world records dovetails impressively with his triumphant injury-time dropped goal that secured the 20-17 win over Australia in the 2003 RWC final in Sydney.

His list of accolades is almost endless but headed by his global record of 1,099 Test points, including 67 for the British & Irish Lions, a world best of 29 dropped goals, together with 249 points in the RWC, another peerless total.

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Battling back from nine months on the sidelines occupied Louis Deacon’s time before his return to action in February 2009, selection for the non-cap Twickenham match against the Barbarians in May and his first two Test appearances for 27 months against Argentina in June.

Louis had undergone surgery on a prolapsed disc in his back in June 2008 that ruled him out of the Investec Challenge series and the subsequent RBS 6 Nations Championship.

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The third of only nine players to complete a half-century of Guinness Premiership tries, Mark Cueto has taken his league form to the international field and passed the 30-cap landmark, having started all of England’s past seven matches.

After representing English Universities, England Sevens and A team in the Churchill Cup, Mark launched his Test career with four tries in three games, including two on his debut against Canada five years ago. He ran in three against Italy in 2005 and the same year he equalled the 1991 record set by Chris Oti, of London Wasps, with tries in eight consecutive Premiership matches.

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Matt Banahan not only exploited his first Test calls by impressing against Argentina in the absence of the injured David Strettle but also showed he knows the way to the line.

The ‘Jersey Juggernaut’ followed his try-scoring non-cap debut against the Barbarians in late May 2009 by outmuscling and outflanking the Pumas’ defence in each of the internationals at Old Trafford, where he was man of the match, and Salta on successive June Saturdays. His travel plans had changed rapidly after he was originally scheduled to be in the Saxons’ squad for the Churchill Cup in Denver.

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Tom Croft’s 13 England caps out of a possible 14 date back to his debut against France in February 2008. He was not a first choice for the British & Irish Lions’ squad to tour South Africa in 2009, but after being called on as a pre-tour replacement for the suspended Alan Quinlan, he promptly became the first Lions’ forward to score two tries against the Springboks in the first Test at Durban.

Tom’s rugby baptism had come at the age of 11 when he joined Newbury and he remained with the National One club for five years before switching to the Leicester Tigers Academy. He made his senior debut against Gloucester only a week after his 20th birthday in November 2005.

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Just like England luminaries Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson, Courtney Lawes graduated to Northampton Saints from the Northampton Old Scouts’ RFC that was founded in 1926 by scouts around a camp fire at Castle Ashby.

Courtney was raised only a punt away from Franklin’s Gardens, the home of the Saints, and is relishing a career that has gathered momentum. A towering forward with athleticism to match, he rocketed into the club’s senior side last January with a man-of-the-match display against Montpellier while still a member of the Saints Academy. His Guinness Premiership debut followed a fortnight later off the bench against Harlequins.

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Few players have won every honour in the game but Lewis Moody is not only among that elite group but has a burning desire to add to his half century of caps.

Audacious and athletic, he appeared in all seven matches when England won the 2003 RWC and his longevity as well as his excellence is reflected by 2009/10 being his fourteenth as a Leicester Tigers’ squad member. He made his senior debut against Boroughmuir while still at Oakham School in August 1996 and became the youngest Tiger to figure in a league match.

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Representing the British & Irish Lions in South Africa in the summer of 2009 was an unexpected bonus for Tim Payne, who had only just added two England caps to his total in the matches against Argentina in June.

Just a week after the tour had finished, Tim was called into the Lions’ party as injury cover for fellow England prop Andrew Sheridan. He promptly made his debut when starting the match against the Emerging Springboks, which ended as a 13-13 draw at Newlands.

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New challenges beckon Shane Geraghty following his move to Northampton Saints for 2009-10. His 42 Guinness Premiership appearances and 127 points for London Irish could have yielded much more but for a series of career-interrupting injuries.

A long-term hamstring injury eliminated Shane from 2007 RWC contention, and a knee ligament strain ruled him out of the 2008 RBS 6 Nations Championship, the year after he won his first caps. He has also suffered a broken bone in one hand, and ankle problems hindered him at the start of 2008-09.

Profile
After being an unused replacement against France and Scotland in March 2008, Paul Hodgson made his breakthrough with his first cap, off the bench, the following week in the 33-10 win over Ireland at Twickenham. He had to wait more than a year for his next caps, against Argentina in June 2009.

Known as ‘Dodge’ because of his sidestepping skills, Paul topped a career century of Premiership appearances in season 2008-09 – 103 for London Irish and one for Bristol Rugby after being a replacement for a single minute in his only Premiership match for the club, ironically against the Irish back in 2002-03. He had, however, stepped up for other first-team games when Agustin Pichot, the Argentina scrum half, sustained an injury in the early part of 2002.

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Test caps have become a thrilling extension of a successful IRB World Sevens career for Ugo Monye. His blistering pace in tournaments from 2002 to 2005 swept him to A and Saxons accolades and into the full England side, where he excelled against the Pacific Islanders in November 2008.

Ugo’s ebullient form in six England appearances – including a try during a 26-12 victory in the Scotland match at Twickenham in March 2009 – convinced the British & Irish Lions of his capabilities. Two Test appearances in South Africa followed that summer and Ugo scored a 70-metre interception try in the 28-9 win over the Springboks in the final Test.

Amassing 39 points in England’s two-Test series against Argentina last summer enhanced the scoring exploits of Andy Goode, who has been drafted into the Elite Squad to replace the injured Toby Flood. Andy had returned to the international side against Italy in February, 27 months after his most recent appearance. He switched last season to CA Brive from Leicester Tigers, for whom he scored 1,766 points in 176 matches, spanning ten years. While with Leicester, he won five Guinness Premiership titles, together with the European Cup in 2001 and 2002. He also played briefly for Saracens. The third highest Premiership points-scorer with 1,484, behind Charlie Hodgson and Jonny Wilkinson, he joined English compatriots Ben Cohen, Steve Thompson and Ben Johnston when signing a two-year contract with Brive in July 2008 and amassed 300 points to become the third highest scorer in senior European rugby last season. A product of King Henry VIII, Coventry, the school that had produced David Duckham, Peter Preece and Peter Rossborough for the same England back division, he has also played for England Schools, Under 21s and Saxons, with whom he was a Churchill Cup winner.

Outstanding performances for England Under 21s foreshadowed James Haskell’s route into the England Elite Squad and the 19 caps he has won so far, including 14 consecutively. Now in his first season with Stade Français since leaving London Wasps, he was educated at Wellington College in Berkshire. James excelled during England’s 2008 summer tour of New Zealand, having made his debut in the 27-18 defeat by Wales the previous year and was in the Saxons' team that subsequently beat New Zealand Maori in the Churchill Cup final. He made ten appearances for England Under 21s in 2005, including five in the IRB World Championship in Mendoza and became the first player to appear in every match for that age group team in two successive years. Was a try-scorer when the side completed the 2006 Grand Slam with a 40-5 win over Ireland, having previously represented England Under 18s, 19s and also England Sevens. He first figured for Wasps at the age of 18, when he singled out Lawrence Dallaglio as his sporting hero for his inspiring leadership qualities.

Mobility, strength and durability have served Steve Thompson well since he excelled as a member of the winning Midlands Under 21 team against New Zealand and the victorious North & Midlands and England sides against South Africa in the same age group. His emergence blossomed into the status of a 2003 RWC winner and he has rejuvenated his career since sustaining a serious neck injury in the Heineken Cup pool match against Biarritz and announcing his retirement from the game two years ago.

Steve left Northampton Saints, the club he represented for ten years and had captained, to pursue a coaching role with Brive but took further medical advice, was cleared to play for the French club and returned to action later in 2007. His selection in the England squad for last summer’s matches against Argentina bridged a gap of 38 months since he won his 47th cap against Ireland. Steve’s international comeback off the bench for Dylan Hartley was in the 37-15 win over the Pumas at Old Trafford.
 

History has repeated its-self for Duncan Bell, who won his first England caps four years ago after Phil Vickery had sustained a broken arm and Julian White suffered a neck injury. With the pair absent again, Duncan was called into the England Elite Squad 12 days before the opening match against Australia in this autumn’s Investec Challenge Series. A member of England’s 1998 Southern Hemisphere tour party, he was an unused bench replacement against the Wallabies, a sedentary role that still precluded him from fulfilling an alternative ambition to gain a Wales qualification on residency.

He has played for Ebbw Vale and Pontypridd as well as London Irish, Sale Sharks and Harlequins but had taken up the game of nine at Bath. Born in Norfolk, he was raised on the Gloucestershire-Wiltshire border in the village of Hawkesbury Upton, represented England Under 16s and won a place at Colston’s in Bristol.

A powerful break-maker, Ayoola Erinle was an unlikely convert to rugby which makes his achievements all the more eye-catching. He was a Biarritz newcomer this season from Leicester Tigers and won selection in the England match squad for the Australia game in the 2009 Investec Challenge Series after Mike Tindall sustained a hamstring injury when playing for Gloucester Rugby eight days before the Test.

Before moving to France, Ayoola made 101 Guinness Premiership appearances and scored 25 tries in seven seasons for London Wasps and Leicester. He had come to the UK with his family from Nigeria when 18 months old and lived in Middlesbrough and Glasgow before settling in Reading where he first played rugby at the Oratory School.

Ayoola, whose forename means ‘Joy of Wealth’, said: “Rugby was compulsory at school but I tried to get out of it. I’d never done anything like that kind of contact before but something suddenly clicked and literally overnight I began to enjoy it. I was a big lad and quite quick and that helped to get me noticed.” Since then rugby has enthused the whole Ayoola family. By the time he was 12, he had switched from the front row to the back row and then to centre. He joined Reading RFC and when 19 played for England Students in the World Cup in Italy and also for England Sevens in Durban and Dubai where he was joint leading try-scorer.