Steve Borthwick has named his England squad to face South Africa in their opening match of the all-new World Rugby Nations Championship.
England will start their Nations Championship campaign with arguably the toughest possible fixture, facing South Africa away from home.
The reigning back-to-back world champions have continued to be a force to be reckoned with in recent years, retaining the Rugby Championship for the first time in their history in 2025.
Meanwhile, England have taken a huge backwards step over the last 12 months, personified by their fifth place finish at the 2026 Six Nations, raising question marks over Borthwick's job security.
The Springboks, who named their squad for the match a few days ago, have gone with extreme strength and experience for this contest, with their squad age averaging over 30 - though this is not uncommon for South African sides.
Arguably the biggest headline for England is the inclusion of George Furbank in the starting XV, with Freddie Steward - who played at full back for England in every match of the Six Nations - left out entirely.
Furbank is joined in the back three by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Cadan Murley, meaning that Tommy Freeman continues his experiment at outside centre, partnered by Seb Atkinson.
Fin Smith starts at fly half, beating George Ford and Marcus Smith to the starting berth, partnering Jack van Poortvliet at half back.
Ellis Genge, named as one of two vice captains for this fixture, starts in the front row, alongside captain Jamie George and Leicester's Joe Heyes.
Alex Coles and George Martin are the second row pairing, in front of a back row of Ben Earl, Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum - who is the other vice captain named.
England opt for a 6-2 bench split to counteract the physicality of the Springboks, with Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith the two backs replacements.
England team news
Starting XV: 15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 Ellis Genge (vc), 2 Jamie George (c), 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Alex Coles, 5 George Martin, 6 Ollie Chessum (vc), 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl.
Substitutes: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Marcus Smith.
South Africa team news
Starting XV: 15 Damien Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damien De Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams; 1 Ox Nche, 2 Malcom Marx, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese.
Substitutes: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Kobus Reinach, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Canan Moodie.
