England have reinstated Freddie Steward at full-back and picked Jack van Poortvliet at scrum-half in an effort to salvage their autumn against South Africa on Saturday.
George Furbank drops out of the squad altogether to make room for Steward at 15 and Ben Spencer is also axed, with Van Poortvliet set to make his first Test appearance for over a year.
Furbank and Spencer both started the last-gasp losses against New Zealand and Australia that have turned the Allianz Stadium showdown against the Springboks into a must-win encounter.
The two other changes to the starting XV are enforced after Tom Curry and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso were ruled out against South Africa because of concussions sustained facing the Wallabies.
Sam Underhill is chosen at openside flanker, having overcome an ankle issue that had affected the start of his season, while Ollie Sleightholme, the scorer of two tries against Australia, is given his first start on the left wing.
Steward slipped to second choice full-back early in the Six Nations, but the recent law directive targeting ‘escort’ runners, which is intended to create more of a contest for kicks, favour the Leicester Tiger’s unrivalled ability in the air.
Van Poortvliet was England’s preferred scrum-half heading into the World Cup, but he sustained an ankle injury in the warm-up match against Wales at Twickenham and has been overlooked by Steve Borthwick since.
A change to the bench due to Sleightholme’s promotion to the starting XV sees wing Tom Roebuck provide back three cover, having made his Test debut against Japan in June.
“We’re excited to challenge ourselves against the world’s top-ranked team and back-to-back World Cup champions,” said Borthwick.
“Test matches against South Africa are always thrilling contests and I’m sure Saturday will be no exception.”
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 14, 2024
England team to play South Africa
Forwards: 1 Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), 2 Jamie George (Captain, Saracens), 3 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby), 4 Maro Itoje (Saracens), 5 George Martin (Leicester Tigers), 6 Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), 7 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), 8 Ben Earl (Saracens)
Backs: 9 Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers), 10 Marcus Smith (Harlequins), 11 Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints), 12 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), 13 Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby), 14 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), 15 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), 17 Fin Baxter (Harlequins), 18 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), 19 Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), 20 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), 21 Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), 22 George Ford (Sale Sharks), 23 Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)