Premiership talking points: Ted Hill, Tom Willis, Rodrigo Isgro

With England’s players (apart from Henry Slade) deep in autumn preparations, this weekend’s Premiership action gave space for others to present their test case to Steve Borthwick.

And it was the fullbacks who were front and center.

There was pain for a young gun as 21-year-old Guy Pepper, a Newcastle standout last season, whose form has continued to work well at Bath, limped out of the win over Sale, while Henry Pollock, just 19 . , was busy for Northampton, racking up more metres, carries and tackles than any other Saints forward in the loss to Bristol.

However, it was those older ones who really caught the attention.

Tom Pearson combined rock-solid shoulders with feather-soft hands, superbly scoring tries for Josh Kemeny and George Hendy in the opening 20 minutes against Bristol, while Fitz Harding, fresh from a hat-trick last week, was a key part of the The fearsome return of the bears.

Jack Kenningham and Will Evans, who top the league’s turnover statistics with 11 and nine respectively, continued their Hooper-Pocock tribute act in Harlequins’ win over Exeter, while Newcastle’s Callum Chick raged against the defeat at Gloucester.

However, Ted Hill and Tom Willis – the most obvious omissions from England’s starting squad last week – made the most obvious claims.

Bath’s Hill mixed glorious galloping breaks with a tireless dedication to hard work, as Willis opened a 96-metre-deep black hole in Leicester’s defense in a display reminiscent of that of his Saracens’ number eight predecessor, Billy Vunipola.

Hill was called up to the England squad on Sunday night to cover for the injured Ollie Chessum. Willis, meanwhile, is still waiting.