Lennox Anyanwu

England's head coach named him a future international in January 2024. Eighteen months later he left the Premiership for the Top 14.

Steve Borthwick named Lennox Anyanwu in January 2024 as a player he expected to see in an England shirt. Eighteen months later he left England altogether. He is 25 and has not been capped.

A centre, 1.84m and 101kg, on Montpellier‘s books.

Born in London and of Nigerian descent, he came through the Harlequins academy from 2019 and played for England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 level. What followed was the standard English second-tier apprenticeship: London Scottish in 2020, Richmond in 2021-22, then London Scottish again in 2023. Three loan seasons is a long time to spend proving a point.

Harlequins extended him in January 2023, and the opening came when André Esterhuizen left. Anyanwu took the vacant centre shirt in 2024-25 and held it, which is what prompted Borthwick’s remark and, in the end, the offer from France.

He signed for two years from the 2025-26 season. His first campaign in the Top 14 ended in a French championship final, which his club lost, and a Challenge Cup won by the same squad.

The decision is the interesting part of the profile. A 24-year-old holding a Premiership starting shirt and named by the national coach would usually stay put and wait for the call. He went to a harder league instead, where the midfield defending is more physical and the reward, if it comes, is a better player rather than a quicker cap.

A big, direct centre who defends the twelve channel. Two seasons in France will settle whether the England prediction was right.