3 hours ago
England person put their religion successful Saracens’ caller signing George Martin and his erstwhile Leicester clubmate Jack van Poortvliet successful a reshuffled starting XV to look South Africa this weekend. There are 5 changes to nan line-up that narrowly mislaid 48-46 to France successful nan last information of nan Six Nations, pinch George Furbank, Manny Feyi-Waboso and Tom Curry besides recalled.
Martin fills nan sizeable spread near by absent skipper Maro Itoje while Van Poortvliet has been picked up of Northampton’s Alex Mitchell and Bath’s Ben Spencer. Furbank and Feyi-Waboso switch Elliot Daly and Tom Roebuck respectively pinch Curry selected astatine flanker up of Guy Pepper and Henry Pollock for nan inaugural information of nan caller Nations Championship.
There had been calls for Northampton’s Pollock to commencement successful nan back-row but Steve Borthwick has alternatively backed nan acquisition of Curry and Ben Earl pinch Pollock and Pepper connected nan bench. Significantly Ollie Chessum will again deterioration nan No 6 jersey arsenic England look to antagonistic nan physicality and lineout threats of a powerful Springbok pack.
Furbank, meanwhile, will beryllium making his first commencement since November 2024 while Fey-Waboso sat retired this year’s Six Nations done injury. Borthwick is intelligibly hoping some players adhd attacking impetus to an England broadside that has mislaid its past 4 Tests connected nan trot and past won astatine Ellis Park successful 1972.
“Playing South Africa astatine Ellis Park is 1 of nan awesome Tests successful world rugby and an opportunity we’re excited to embrace,” said Borthwick. “We’ve prepared good since we arrived present past week and I consciousness a existent excitement wrong nan squad to get our Nations Championship run nether way.”
From Johannesburg England are scheduled to alert backmost to look Fiji astatine Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium earlier heading to Santiago del Estero to look Argentina connected 18 July.
England squad (v South Africa) Furbank (Harlequins); Feyi-Waboso (Exeter); Freeman (Northampton), Atkinson (Gloucester), Murley (Harlequins); F Smith (Northampton), Van Poortvliet (Leicester); Genge (Bristol Bears), George (Saracens, capt), Heyes (Leicester), Coles (Northampton), Martin (Saracens), Chessum (Leicester), T Curry (Sale), Earl (Saracens). Replacements Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Obano (Bath), Opoku-Fordjour (Sale), Ewels (Bath), Pepper (Bath), Pollock (Northampton), Mitchell (Northampton), Smith (Harlequins).
