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Build your dream England XV: complete 2026 rugby guide.

~14 min read
Updated 23/06/2026
XV Lineup Maker
« Swing low, sweet chariot. »
XV

From loosehead to fullback, draft your fifteen in white.

TeamBranch reproduces the official structure of a rugby union XV: 8 forwards (the pack), 7 backs (the line), a captain, a tactical formation. Fifteen positions, fifteen calls, from number 1 to number 15.

Draft from the current England squad (Maro Itoje, Henry Pollock, Marcus Smith, Fin Smith, Tom Curry, Ellis Genge, Tommy Freeman), the red-rose immortals (Jonny Wilkinson, Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Jason Robinson, Will Carling), the stars of Premiership Rugby and the Championship, or pick from the All Blacks, Springboks, Wallabies, Pumas, Six Nations rivals. You can also build a side made entirely of mates for the Sunday morning park run.

12,000 players 15 positions 4 tactical formations One-link share
Rugby World Cup 2027

The XV for star number two

Pick the team that walks out in Perth on 1 October 2027. Trust Borthwick's current core, blood the new caps, or go all-time. One title in 2003, three finals lost — 2027 is the first proper shot since 2007.

BorthwickItojePollockAustralia
Six Nations · Calcutta Cup

The XV to win the Six Nations

Pick the side that takes le Crunch in Paris, the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield, and the Triple Crown through Wales and Ireland. England's 13 Grand Slams is the championship record. 2003 remains the peak.

FranceIrelandWalesScotland
Premiership Rugby

The Prem dream XV

Mix the Saracens trophy machine, the Leicester Tigers dynasty, the Northampton Saints 2024 champs, the Bath Rugby revival, the Harlequins attack. Throw in Sale's Curry twins, Exeter's grunt, Gloucester's Shed. The best XV of the league, your call.

SaracensTigersSaintsQuins
Club & mates lineup

The Sunday park XV

Your old man at prop, mate at hooker, brother at scrum-half, sister on the wing. Upload your own photo cards for the club final, the touring side, the stag weekend, or just the post-match in the clubhouse.

CustomPhotoClubStag tour
The Rose Times · special England edition
N° 155 · 1871-2026

A hundred and fifty-five years of England rugby, a hundred and fifty-five ways to imagine the XV.

From the first Test at Raeburn Place on 27 March 1871 (lost to Scotland by a goal to nil) to the new dawn under Steve Borthwick at Allianz Stadium, the men of the rose have carried the home of the game: 1 World Cup, 13 Grand Slams, the oldest Test rivalry on Earth. On TeamBranch you can replay every generation — or rewrite the finals that got away.

1823 → 1991 · Rugby School to the home final

From Webb Ellis to Carling's slammers

The game was invented at Rugby School in 1823 when, the legend goes, William Webb Ellis "took the ball in his arms and ran". The RFU was founded in 1871 at the Pall Mall restaurant, the first ever rugby Test followed weeks later against Scotland. Then came the quiet amateur century: Wakefield in the 1920s, the 1957 Grand Slam, Bill Beaumont's 1980 Slam (the first since 1957).

The Will Carling era of the early 1990s was Twickenham's awakening. Three Grand Slams in five years (1991, 1992, 1995), the swagger, the brand. England hosted and reached the 1991 World Cup final — lost 12-6 to Australia, Campese stepping the ghost. The drumbeat for 2003 was already starting.

1995 → 2007 · Woodward's revolution

The 2003 World Cup, peak red rose

The pain of the 1995 semi (Lomu's four tries, 29-45 in Cape Town) forged a culture. Clive Woodward took over in 1997, dragged English rugby fully professional, hired sports psychologists, vision coaches, kit designers. His team in the early 2000s — Martin Johnson captain, Wilkinson at 10, Dallaglio at 8, Robinson on the wing, Greenwood in the centre — became the most complete rugby team in the world.

Then came Sydney, 22 November 2003. Extra time, scores level at 17-17. Matt Dawson's reverse pass, Martin Johnson's hold, Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal off his right boot. 20-17. The only Northern Hemisphere World Cup. Heroes' welcome at Heathrow, MBEs all round. The hangover lasted four years — 2007 silver to South Africa was a glorious failure built on the same old men.

2008 → 2026 · Lancaster, Eddie, Borthwick

The rebuild, the revival, the reset

The post-Woodward years were turbulent. Stuart Lancaster's clean-up after 2011's "dwarf-throwing" tour was undone by a brutal 2015 — England became the first hosts ever eliminated in the pool stage. Eddie Jones arrived in late 2015 and won 24 of his first 25 Tests, the 2016 Grand Slam, the famous 19-7 win over the All Blacks in the 2019 RWC semi. Then lost the final to South Africa, then a slow erosion to 2022.

2024 brought Steve Borthwick, the cerebral former Leicester boss. New game plan, refreshed squad: Itoje captain, twin Smiths competing at 10 (Marcus and Fin), Henry Pollock the back-row sensation, Ben Earl and the Curry twins. Heading to Australia 2027 with the deepest squad since 2003 — and a quiet plan.

Architecture of the XV

How is a rugby union team built?

A rugby XV runs out with 15 starters and 8 replacements: the pack and the line, the forwards and the backs. Each jersey number maps to a specific role. TeamBranch reproduces this grammar for your lineup, one to fifteen.

The pack (1 to 8) is about set-piece and contact: scrums, lineouts, mauls, rucks. The backs (9 to 15) are about movement: handling, territory, running lines, finishing. All of it under a captain, who can wear any number.

Front row · 1, 2, 3
Loosehead, hooker, tighthead. The foundation: scrum and lineout. Raw power: Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Joe Marler.
Locks · 4, 5
The lineout towers. Jumpers, mauling, big hits. Maro Itoje (captain), Ollie Chessum, George Martin, Charlie Ewels. The Martin Johnson lineage.
Loose forwards · 6, 7, 8
The flankers and the No. 8. Versatility, breakdown, jackalling. Tom Curry at openside, Ben Earl at 8, Henry Pollock the breakout. Dallaglio's heirs.
Halves · 9, 10
The brains: scrum-half (Alex Mitchell, Ben Spencer, Harry Randall) and fly-half (Marcus Smith and Fin Smith — the great twin-Smith debate). Vision, pass, kick.
Midfield · 12, 13
The inside centre distributes, the outside centre hits the line. Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Fraser Dingwall, Manu Tuilagi's heirs. The crash-ball gear.
Back three · 11, 14, 15
Left wing, right wing, fullback. Pure pace, aerial work, finishing. Tommy Freeman, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Cadan Murley, Freddie Steward. Jason Robinson's lineage.
English rugby lexicon

The words to know to talk rugby like a Twickenham regular.

Try
The supreme act: ground the ball over the opposition try line. Worth 5 points, plus 2 for the conversion. Rugby's version of a touchdown — but you have to ground it yourself.
Scrum
The iconic set piece: 8 vs 8, hooker in the middle, props either side, locks behind. Engagement on the scrum-half's feed. The Genge-against-the-world scrum battles define modern England.
Lineout
Restart after the ball goes into touch: an alignment of jumpers, the hooker throws, locks get lifted. A tactical conquest set piece — and the best place to call the rolling maul.
Ruck & maul
Two contact phases after a tackle: ruck = ball on the ground, you clear; maul = ball-carrier upright, you drive. Borthwick's England live for the rolling maul try off a lineout five metres out.
Drop goal & penalty
The drop (3 pts) is kicked in open play, ball must bounce first. The penalty (3 pts) punishes a foul. Wilkinson's 2003 drop in Sydney is the most famous in history. Worth seeing live, even now, on the big screen at half-time.
Offside & knock-on
Offside = ahead of the ball-carrier. Knock-on = ball spilled forward. The two basic mistakes that end a phase — and the source of every clubhouse referee debate.
Tackle
The defensive weapon. Choke tackle, chop tackle, shoulder hit, high tackle (penalty, often red card these days). The blitz defence has been an England trademark since the Andy Farrell years.
Box kick & territory
The Borthwick playbook. Box kick from the scrum-half off the back of a ruck, chase line, win it back. Territory rugby, the Leicester way. The cousin of Wilkinson's tactical kicking game.
Wooden spoon
The "prize" handed to the last-placed side in the Six Nations — the team that loses all five matches. Italy wears it most often, England has never had to take it home.
Five eras · five iconic XVs

Replay the lineups that defined England rugby.

Each generation has its faces, its system, its rivalries. On TeamBranch you can rebuild these XVs exactly, or change one name and see what happens. What if Lomu hadn't existed in 1995? If Wilkinson hadn't broken? If Tindall had married into the family earlier? Answer in 60 seconds.

1871-1989
The amateur century
From the first Test in 1871 to the 1980 Grand Slam — the first since 1957 — under Bill Beaumont. Wakefield, Catt, Dean Richards, Brian Moore. The cabbage patch finds its voice.
BeaumontWakefieldD. RichardsB. Moore
1991-2003
Carling to Woodward
Three Slams under Carling, the 1991 home final loss to Australia, then Woodward's revolution: 2003 in Sydney, Wilkinson's drop, 20-17. The only Northern title.
CarlingJohnsonWilkinsonDallaglioRobinson
2004-2015
The hangover years
2007 silver (Mike Catt's last run, lost 6-15 to RSA in Paris), 2011 dwarf-throwing tour, then 2015 — first hosts ever knocked out in the pool stage. Brutal.
M. TindallWilkinsonRobshawCareM. Tuilagi
2016-2019
The Eddie Jones revival
24 of his first 25 Tests won, 2016 Grand Slam, 2019 RWC semi 19-7 over the All Blacks in Yokohama. Lost the final to the Boks 12-32. Best night since '03 either way.
ItojeFarrellTuilagiMakoUnderhill
2020-2026
The Borthwick rebuild
2023 RWC bronze (Farrell's last RWC), then Borthwick takes over 2024, rebuilds around Itoje as captain, the twin Smiths, Pollock, the Curry twins. RWC 2027 in sights.
ItojeM. SmithF. SmithPollockGenge
«
It was a moment of clarity in a sea of chaos. The boys had done the hard work. I just had to put my foot through it.
Jonny Wilkinson, on the 2003 World Cup-winning drop goal in Sydney, 22 November 2003

Every rugby XV you can build on TeamBranch.

9 themes · no sign-up
★
Current England

Borthwick's red roses, your version

Build the XV that runs the 2026 Six Nations and the 2027 World Cup in Australia. Mix the leaders (Itoje, M. Smith, F. Smith, Earl, Curry, Genge) and the new caps (Pollock, Feyi-Waboso, Murley, Cunningham-South). Your starting XV, your bench, your captain.

9 Mitchell10 M. Smith14 Freeman15 Steward8 Earl
England · 202642 internationals
⏳
England legends

The eternal XV of the rose

Jason Robinson at fullback, Jonny Wilkinson at 10, Will Carling at centre, Lawrence Dallaglio at 8, Richard Hill at 6, Martin Johnson captain, Neil Back at 7, Jason Leonard at prop. Build the all-time XV in white, from 1871 to 2026.

W WilkinsonJ JohnsonD DallaglioR Robinson
1871 → 2026500 legends
🏆
Premiership Rugby XV

The team of the season

Mix the black-and-red Saracens, the green-and-white Tigers, the black-and-gold Saints, the blue-and-white Bath, the multi-colour Harlequins. Throw in Bristol, Sale, Exeter, Gloucester, Newcastle. The best XV of the Prem, your selection.

SA SaracensLT TigersNS SaintsHQ Quins
Prem · 10 clubs500 cards
🌍
International all-stars

The World XV of the Barbarians

Step out of the white jersey: Antoine Dupont (FR) at scrum-half, Cheslin Kolbe (RSA) on the wing, Henry Pollock (ENG) at 7, Maro Itoje (ENG) at lock, Siya Kolisi (RSA) captain, Will Jordan (NZ) at 14. The World XV that would make Borthwick reach for the analytics laptop.

FR DupontSA KolisiNZ JordanEN Itoje
10 nations · World XV1,200 players
⚔
Six Nations rivals

Pick the side that taunts England

What if you wore blue, green or red instead? Build the all-time French XV with Dupont, Penaud, Alldritt; the Irish XV with Doris, Ringrose, the Sheehans; the Welsh dragons with Halfpenny, North, Faletau; the Scottish XV with Finn Russell. Le Crunch, the Old Enemy, the Calcutta Cup — all in one tab.

FR DupontIR DorisWA FaletauSC Russell
5 rivals · Six Nations800 players
🏴
County & school heritage

The XV of your patch

Pick your county or school: Yorkshire white rose, Cornwall Trelawny's army, Lancashire red rose, Devon, Gloucestershire, Cumbria. Throw in school heritage: Rugby School (where it all started), Eton, Harrow, Sedbergh, Millfield, Wellington. Cornish Pirates, Doncaster Knights, the Bedford Blues.

Y YorkshireC CornwallL LancsD Devon
40+ counties · schools700 cards
🌹
Red Roses

The world's best Test side, your version

Women's rugby's gold standard. Holly Aitchison at 10, Abby Dow on the wing, Ellie Kildunne at fullback (Player of the Year), Zoe Aldcroft at 6, Marlie Packer captain, Megan Jones at 13. Four Grand Slams in a row, one defeat in 30+ Tests, RWC 2025 at home in England as favourites after the 31-34 heartbreak in Auckland.

P PackerA AldcroftD DowK Kildunne
Red Roses · 2026200 players
🎬
Celebrities & fiction

The unlikely XV

Mike Tindall at 13 (royal in-law, 2003 squad), Princess Anne as RFU patron, Will Carling at captain, Daniel Craig at flanker, James Corden at hooker, Mr Bean on the wing. Or go full fictional: James Bond at fullback, Sherlock at fly-half, Paddington as water carrier. The only XV where the Royal Box gets involved in the team talk.

T TindallC CraigB BondB Bean
Film · Royal · Fiction1,800 cards
👨‍👩
Your mates & family

The XV of your club, your mates, your family

Upload your own photo cards. Stick your brother at 10, your mate at prop, your cousin on the wing, your dad as captain. The club Saturday XV, the touring side, the team for the stag tour, the Sunday morning park XV. Custom and unlimited.

+ Photo+ Photo+ Photo+ Photo
Custom · freeunlimited
Rugby World Cup 2027 · D-465

Build the England XV that hunts star number two in Australia.

The Rugby World Cup 2027 kicks off down under from 1 October to 13 November, expanded for the first time to 24 nations. Venues: Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne. England — runners-up in 1991 at home, in 2007 in Paris, in 2019 in Yokohama — is chasing a second title under Steve Borthwick, with the deepest squad since 2003 and the twin Smiths competing for the 10 jersey.

On TeamBranch, build your 2027 XV by scenario: Borthwick's current core, post-Premiership form XV, all-time selection, full Pollock-Itoje back row. Editable in two clicks.

465
Days
01
Hours
46
Min
03
Sec
World rugby tour

The 12 great rugby nations, and their iconic XVs.

International rugby rotates around a tight circle. Tier 1: the six European nations (England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy) and the four SANZAAR sides (New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina). On TeamBranch you can build the XV of any nation: current squads, all-time legends, or your perfect mix.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
England
XV of the Rose
1 World Cup (2003, Wilkinson's drop). Home of the game. Twickenham, HQ. 13 Grand Slams, championship record.
ItojePollockM. Smith
🇳🇿
New Zealand
All Blacks
3 World Cups (1987, 2011, 2015). Haka. Black jersey. The eternal benchmark.
SaveaB. BarrettJordan
🇿🇦
South Africa
Springboks
4 World Cups (1995, 2007, 2019, 2023). Reigning back-to-back champions. The modern bogey side for England.
KolisiEtzebethPollard
🇫🇷
France
Les Bleus · le coq
3 finals lost (1987, 1999, 2011). Grand Slam 2022. Le Crunch vs England the showpiece. Dupont generation at peak.
DupontPenaudAlldritt
🇮🇪
Ireland
Men in Green
World No. 1 in 2023. Six Nations 2023, 2024, 2025. The Anglo-Irish rivalry, sharper than ever.
DorisSextonRingrose
🇦🇺
Australia
Wallabies
2 World Cups (1991 in London beating England, 1999). RWC 2027 hosts. The 2003 final losers — to England.
WrightSuaaliiMcReight
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Wales
XV of the Leek · Dragons
3 RWC semi-finals. Cardiff, Principality Stadium. The Old Enemy — Twickenham vs Cardiff, the oldest grudge.
HalfpennyNorthFaletau
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Scotland
XV of the Thistle
Calcutta Cup vs England — the oldest Test rivalry on Earth, since 1879. Murrayfield. The Crunch's noisier cousin.
F. RussellTuipulotuVan der Merwe
🇦🇷
Argentina
Los Pumas
3 RWC semi-finals (2007, 2015, 2023). Beat England in pool play more than once. Recurring giant-killers.
HernandezLavaniniBoffelli
🇮🇹
Italy
Squadra Azzurra
Six Nations member since 2000. 18 wooden spoons. Capuozzo generation finally rising.
CapuozzoLamaroGarbisi
🇫🇯
Fiji
Flying Fijians
RWC quarter-finalists 2007 & 2023. Magic offloads, Olympic sevens gold (2016, 2020).
RadradraTuisovaHabosi
🇯🇵
Japan
Brave Blossoms
The "Miracle of Brighton" 2015 vs RSA — on English soil. RWC quarters at home 2019.
MatsushimaLabuschagneLee
English club rugby · Premiership & Championship

The 10 Premiership clubs and the heart of the Championship.

Premiership Rugby is England's top flight — 10 surviving clubs in 2026 after the collapses of Worcester, Wasps and London Irish in 2022-23. Below it, the Championship keeps the dream alive with Doncaster, Ealing, Coventry, Bedford and friends. Above, the Investec Champions Cup with the URC and Top 14 clubs. On TeamBranch you can build the type-XV of any club, or a competition-wide all-star side.

SA
Saracens
London
6 titles
LT
Leicester Tigers
Welford Road
11 titles
BA
Bath Rugby
The Rec
6 titles
NS
Northampton Saints
Franklin's Gardens
2024 champs
HQ
Harlequins
The Stoop
2 titles
BB
Bristol Bears
Ashton Gate
Top of attack
SS
Sale Sharks
Salford
1 title (2006)
EC
Exeter Chiefs
Sandy Park
2 titles
GL
Gloucester
Kingsholm · The Shed
Loudest crowd
NF
Newcastle Falcons
Kingston Park
1 title (1998)
DK
Doncaster Knights
Castle Park
Championship
ET
Ealing Trailfinders
West London
Championship
CV
Coventry
Butts Park Arena
Championship
BB
Bedford Blues
Goldington Road
Championship
Share

Your XV, one URL.

Every team built on TeamBranch generates a unique link + an Open Graph card with photos, numbers and a red-rose banner. Share it on WhatsApp, X, Insta, challenge your mates, kick off the clubhouse WhatsApp argument.

Frequently asked

The classics on building your dream XV.

The most-googled questions and the ones most asked in our inbox.

How do I build my dream England XV online?
Pick a tactical formation (classic, attacking, defensive, kicking game), then fill all 15 positions from 1 to 15 by drafting from 12,000 players: current England squad, legends, Premiership Rugby stars, international icons, or upload your own photo cards. You get a unique shareable link. No sign-up required, 100% free.
How is a rugby union XV officially built?
A rugby XV is made of 8 forwards (1 loosehead prop, 2 hooker, 3 tighthead prop, 4 and 5 locks, 6 and 7 flankers, 8 number eight) and 7 backs (9 scrum-half, 10 fly-half, 11 left wing, 12 inside centre, 13 outside centre, 14 right wing, 15 fullback). Plus 8 replacements on the bench. TeamBranch reproduces this grammar exactly.
Can I build a squad for the 2027 Rugby World Cup?
Yes — this is by far the most popular use right now. RWC 2027 runs in Australia from 1 October to 13 November, expanded to 24 teams. You can draft multiple hypotheses: Borthwick's current core, post-Premiership form XV, all-time England XV, the twin-Smith fly-half debate, the Pollock-Itoje back row, a World XV. Editable and shareable, update it before every Test.
Can I create a team with my mates and family?
Of course. 800,000 custom XVs have already been built. Upload photos of your mates, your dad, your sister, your cousin, your club coach, your Sunday morning park XV, and slot them into any position. Perfect for the club final, the work team-build, the stag do, or just a WhatsApp group windup.
What about the Red Roses (England Women)?
Women's rugby is integrated 100%. Build the Red Roses with Marlie Packer, Zoe Aldcroft, Abby Dow, Ellie Kildunne, Holly Aitchison, Megan Jones — the world's best Test side, four Grand Slams in a row, one defeat in over thirty Tests. RWC 2025 is at home in England and they are heavy favourites after the 2023 heartbreak in Auckland.
Which club competitions are covered?
Premiership Rugby (the 10 surviving English top-flight clubs: Saracens, Leicester, Bath, Northampton, Harlequins, Bristol, Sale, Exeter, Gloucester, Newcastle), the Championship (Doncaster, Ealing, Coventry, Bedford and the rest), plus France's Top 14, the URC and Super Rugby Pacific. More than 800 club cards in total.
What tactical formations does TeamBranch support?
Four: Classic (balanced), Attacking (loose forwards, fast wingers, ball-in-hand), Defensive (heavy pack, tactical scrum-half, kicking game), Kicking Game (territory rugby, dominant fly-half, box kicks à la Borthwick). You can switch at any time and your XV reorganises automatically on the interactive field.
What's the difference between rugby union XV and rugby sevens?
Rugby union (15 players, 80 minutes in 2 halves) is the classic format: Rugby World Cup, Six Nations, Premiership. Sevens (7 players, 14 minutes) is the short Olympic format. The London Sevens at Twickenham is the annual high point of the HSBC SVNS series. TeamBranch covers both — Sevens drops autumn 2026.
Why has England only won one World Cup despite inventing the sport?
One title (2003, Wilkinson's drop in extra time, 20-17 vs Australia in Sydney), three finals lost (1991 at Twickenham vs Australia, 2007 vs South Africa in Paris, 2019 vs South Africa in Yokohama). Despite inventing the game at Rugby School in 1823, England has been hampered by player-welfare cycles, the volatile Premiership salary cap (Saracens 2020, Worcester and Wasps collapses 2022), and the four-year boom-bust around World Cup years. 2027 in Australia is the next proper title shot.
Is the service really free?
Yes, no exception. Composition, sharing, exports, custom card uploads, tactical simulation: everything is free. No sign-up required, no intrusive ads, no paywall. Build as many XVs as you want.
Does TeamBranch exist for other rugby nations?
Yes, 96 local editions including France (Les Bleus), New Zealand (All Blacks), South Africa (Springboks), Australia (Wallabies), Ireland (Men in Green), Wales, Scotland, Italy, Argentina (Los Pumas), Fiji, Japan (Brave Blossoms). Each edition has its own player database and local terminology.