England v South Africa: Jack Van Poortvliet, Freddie Steward start as Steve Borthwick makes four changes
Published 14/11/2024 at 14:04 GMT
England head coach Steve Borthwick has made four changes to his team to face world champions South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+. Scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet, full-back Freddie Steward, wing Ollie Sleightholme and flanker Sam Underhill all start after defeats to New Zealand and Australia in the Autumn Nations Series.
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England head coach Steve Borthwick has shaken up his starting XV to face world champions South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham this Saturday, making four changes following back-to-back defeats to New Zealand and Australia.
Jack van Poortvliet returns at scrum-half to win his first cap since an ankle ligament injury ended his chances of playing at last year’s World Cup, with Ben Spencer dropped from the squad entirely having started the last two games at No. 9. Bristol’s Harry Randall will instead provide cover from the bench.
Freddie Steward is preferred to George Furbank at full-back, potentially due to his superior ability under the high ball, with the Northampton man also missing out on a spot among the replacements.
There are two enforced changes, with wing Ollie Sleightholme making his first international start after three previous appearances as a substitute, replacing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who is out due to concussion protocol.
Flanker Tom Curry will miss the game for the same reason, so Bath’s Sam Underhill comes in to take his place.
England head into the Autumn Nations Series match, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, on the back of a narrow defeat to the All Blacks and a demoralising 42-37 loss to the Wallabies, who had previously been struggling for form.
Sale’s Tom Roebuck is in line to make his second appearance off the bench following his senior debut in the summer, while Borthwick has resisted any temptation to bring George Ford back into his starting team.
“We're excited to challenge ourselves against the world's top-ranked team and back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions,” said Borthwick.
“Test matches against South Africa are always thrilling contests, and I'm sure Saturday will be no exception.”
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England team to face South Africa:
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Henry Slade, 11. Ollie Sleightholme, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortvliet, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George (captain), 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Martin, 6. Chandler Cunningham-South, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Fin Baxter, 18. Dan Cole, 19. Nick Isiekwe, 20. Alex Dombrandt, 21. Harry Randall, 22. George Ford, 23. Tom Roebuck.
Kolisi returns for the Springboks
South Africa go into the match on the back of a 32-15 win over Scotland in Edinburgh and they are boosted by the return of captain Siya Kolisi.
Head coach Rassie Erasmus has made 12 changes from that game and reverted to a more conventional positional make-up to his bench, having received criticism for naming seven forwards among the replacements in Edinburgh.
Destructive winger Cheslin Kolbe is recalled, as is former world player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit.
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“The turnaround between the Scotland and England tests is short, so we had to be smart in our selection to enable us to field a fresh squad with only six days between two tough test matches,” said Erasmus.
“It obviously has a knock-on in effect in the sense that we’ve made 12 changes to the starting lineup, but we have been rotating our squad all season.”
Stream the Gallagher Premiership, 2024 Autumn Nations Series and Premiership Women's Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+
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