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New Zealand back row forward Hoskins Sotutu is nearing a move to Gallagher PREM club Saracens, according to reports, in a switch that could see a major shake-up for Steve Borthwick's World Cup plans. Sotutu, 27, has represented New Zealand 14 times and appeared to have a long future in the All Blacks back row but has not appeared since a 25-25 draw with England at Twickenham in 2022. He was selected in a New Zealand XV squad in 2024 but declined the invitation due to a knee injury, having been previously snubbed by Scott Robertson when in red-hot form for Super Rugby Pacific side the Blues, scoring 12 tries, which saw him named Super Rugby Pasifika Player of the Year. As a result of a three-year hiatus from international rugby, Sotutu is eligible to represent both England and Fiji from the end of November, due to his mother being English and his father being former Fiji centre Waisake Sotutu.  For the abrasive back row to represent England, though, he will need to play his club rugby in the Gallagher PREM, and in an exclusive with the Telegraph, there are three clubs showing interest. Saracens are now in the hunt for a No. 8, after Tom Willis, who played in all five Six Nations matches and the two Tests against Argentina in the summer for England, opted not to stay in London and re-join European champions Bordeaux Begles. - England vs. New Zealand: Tommy Freeman, Ollie Chessum injury doubts
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- Overreactions: England to beat All Blacks? Wales set for miserable autumn? That seems the most likely destination for Sotutu, but Newcastle Red Bulls are looking to bring in a host of big names for next season after their take over by the wealthy energy drink, while Gloucester too are said to be interested. Willis' decision to join brother Jack in France was a blow to Borthwick's World Cup plans and has seen Ben Earl and Chandler Cunningham-South play at No. 8 against Australia and Fiji thus far this Autumn.  Whilst both impressed, with Earl named Player of the Match and Cunningham-South catching the eye with a powerful ball-carrying performance, both seem more at home on the flank than at the base of the scrum. Sotutu's arrival would hand Borthwick a major trump card in finding the right balance to his back row, with the 112kg Blues star potentially able to make his England debut this summer, as the inaugural Rugby Nations Championship gets underway. Should he do so, he will be the first player to represent England having previously played for another nation. Who are other New Zealanders to have played for England?Sotutu would not be the first New Zealander to represent England with the list of Kiwis to don the red rose including former England captain Dylan Hartley. Hartley played for England 97 times, leading them after the disastrous 2015 Rugby World Cup, and guiding them to the Six Nations Grand Slam and an unbeaten calendar year in 2016. Other New Zealand-born English players include Willi Heinz and Piers Francis, two members of the 2019 Rugby World Cup squad that reached the final, Riki Flutey, who became a Test Lion on the 2009 series in South Africa and Shontayne Hape, who was selected in the 2011 Rugby World Cup squad.  Sotutu would not be the first Kiwi back row to make the journey from Super Rugby to Twickenham either, with Brad Shields going from the Hurricanes to Wasps and then England, earning nine caps before missing out on World Cup selection in 2019 through injury. Should Sotutu's touted move from New Zealand to England occur, he would be joining at a very similar time to Shields in relation to the World Cup -- though Steve Borthwick will hope Sotutu can have a far bigger impact than Shields did on England's bid for a second World Cup triumph.
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