Nowell started all five of England's RBS Six Nations matches in 2016 where England won the Grand Slam. He scored a try in the opener against Scotland. Nowell also was part of the successful 3–0 series win over Australia in 2016 starting the second and third test and acting as a replacement in the first and scoring a try from the bench. Nowell played despite having a thumb injury for which he missed the opening few rounds of the 2016–17 domestic season.