Five Saints stars handed enhanced EPS contracts by England boss Borthwick
England boss Steve Borthwick has named five Saints players among the 25 men who will receive enhanced Elite Player Squad (EPS) contracts for the 2026/27 season.
The contracts form part of the Men's Professional Game Partnership, supporting the preparation and development of the England Men’s team.
The 25 contracted players are selected from the wider 50-player EPS squad.
And among that group of 25 are Saints stars Alex Coles, Tommy Freeman, Alex Mitchell, Henry Pollock and Fin Smith.
Coles is the newest Saints inclusion to the EPS contract list, having featured in all of England’s past 15 internationals.
That run started with the Tests against Argentina and USA at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, before Coles featured in all of England’s subsequent Autumn Nations Series, Six Nations and Nations Championship encounters, scoring two tries in the process.
Pollock also featured in the same dozen fixtures this season, while Tommy Freeman (10 games), Alex Mitchell (9), and Fin Smith (8) were also prominent figures for their country last term.
England Men’s enhanced EPS contracts: Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Alex Coles (Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Ben Earl (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Tommy Freeman (Saints), George Furbank (Harlequins), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Martin (Saracens), Alex Mitchell (Saints), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby), Henry Pollock (Saints), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Fin Smith (Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).