Junior Kpoku, the highly rated Racing 92 second row who qualifies for England and France, trained with Steve Borthwick’s squad ahead of last weekend’s thrilling victory over France, marking a major step forward in securing the young lock’s services.
Kpoku, a product of the Saracens academy who joined the club on the Parisian outskirts early last year, is still only 19 and is uncapped but is yet to be captured by either his birth or residential nation. He has represented England at under-20 level for the past two years – and is currently serving a three-match suspension for a red card received on the opening round of this year’s age-group Six Nations – but has left the door open for France, having received an approach from head coach Fabien Galthié.
However, Kpoku has been earmarked for senior England honours already, and Telegraph Sport understands that both England head coach Borthwick and Conor O’Shea, the Rugby Football Union’s executive director of performance, have previously visited Kpoku in France, where he continues to feature for Racing 92’s first team alongside England players Owen Farrell and Henry Arundell.
Those visits led to an invite to Borthwick’s camp at Pennyhill Park, where Kpoku was involved in preparations for last Saturday’s victory at Twickenham, training with the squad on Tuesday with England requiring an extra body for forward drills. It is the first time that Kpoku has trained with the senior England cohort, although he has never been listed as an official member of an assembled squad.
In a March 2024 interview with Telegraph Sport, Kpoku, the brother of former Saracens second row Joel, said: “At the moment, I’m taking things one step at a time. I want to finish off with the under-20s. I have one more season with them. Maybe England is on the cards, maybe France is on the cards. I don’t know yet. I haven’t spoken to Steve [Borthwick] yet but I’m still young. Time will tell, really.”
Kpoku is under contract with Racing 92 until 2027 and qualifies for Les Bleus on residency in 2026. Currently, the teenager would be considered ineligible for England selection owing to the Rugby Football Union’s policy of only selecting Premiership players. Whether Kpoku would be eligible for selection under an “exceptional circumstances” clause remains to be seen, but that would be unlikely.
‘England is in my blood’
Although still not technically “captured” by either nation, Kpoku has more recently suggested that England would be his preferred route.
“France is just where I play rugby,” Kpoku told The Daily Mail at the end of last year. “It wouldn’t feel right to represent a different country, that I wasn’t born in. I wouldn’t like it.
“France is a great country, but I don’t think the Marseillaise would be for me. Playing for England is in my blood – I was born there, and my parents, my family, my friends are all from there. It’s better for me to represent my own country.”
Pollock eyes summer tour and trains with senior team
England Under-20s star Henry Pollock will train with the squad at Pennyhill Park this week after impressing in the side’s opening wins over Ireland and France.
Pollock previously trained with England during their Girona training camp before linking up again with the U20s. While a senior debut during the Six Nations feels unlikely at this stage, the 20-year-old could well go on England’s summer tour of the USA and Argentina later this year.
England’s 28-player squad is otherwise as expected with two forwards, Tom Curry and George Martin, undergoing separate training programmes from the rest of the squad this week.
Curry, a stand-out player in England’s opening two matches, is undergoing a modified training programme, while Martin is managing a knee injury. Both are expected to be full participants in training next week ahead of England’s match against Scotland at Twickenham.
Players not involved in training this week who were part of the previous 35-player squad include hooker Curtis Langdon (Northampton), props Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Bevan Rodd (both Sale), centre Fraser Dingwall (Northampton) and scrum-half Ben Spencer (Bath).
England’s players returned to training on Wednesday and will remain in camp until Friday, having spent time away from Pennyhill Park following last Saturday’s dramatic victory over France.
