Murley targets outside centre switch to secure spot in England's 2027 World Cup squad

Harlequins vice-captain Cadan Murley is expanding his positional range to outside centre in a deliberate bid to secure a place in England’s 2027 Rugby World Cup squad, with head coach Steve Borthwick having personally encouraged the move.

The 26-year-old, who has earned all six of his England caps on the wing, started at outside centre in Quins’ final Gallagher Premiership match of the season — a 38-31 victory over league leaders Northampton Saints — continuing a positional experiment he has been developing throughout the campaign.

“There are so many skills that are interchangeable between 13 and wing,” Murley said on The Rugby Pod. “With the World Cup on the horizon, being able to play multiple positions is important, especially going into a smaller World Cup squad than usual. I think it’s a 33 rather than a 36. You need people to be able to play multiple positions. That was a chat I had with Steve and I’m sure the other boys have as well.”

Murley is not alone in making the switch. Sale Sharks’ Tom Roebuck wore the No.13 jersey for the final two games of his club’s season, while Tommy Freeman has alternated between wing and midfield for both club and country over the past 18 months. Elliot Daly, at 33, has long been considered equally effective in either role.

Freeman has been the most prominent example of Borthwick’s strategy of moving elite wingers infield, but the trend is clearly becoming a squad-wide directive. For Borthwick, the approach solves two persistent problems at once: it maximises a deep pool of talented wide players while addressing outside centre, a position England have historically struggled to fill consistently.

Having started on the wing in England’s final two Six Nations matches, Murley is the incumbent left wing heading into a Nations Championship series against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina. He sees the positional flexibility as an investment in his long-term international career as much as an immediate selection tool.

“It’s something that, looking forward, as you get a bit older on the wing, you probably do start looking in there anyway because you’re not going to be as quick as some of these young lads coming through,” he said. “So yeah, it’s definitely a look towards the future, and to be able to do it while I still have the speed as well.”