By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) – England fullback Freddie Steward, scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet, flanker Sam Underhill and winger Ollie Sleightholme will all start against South Africa on Saturday as coach Steve Borthwick seeks to end a run of four straight defeats.
Steward was England’s regular before losing his slot to George Furbank last year but his aerial abilities, combined with law changes that encourage more contestable kicks, helped persuade Borthwick to bring him back and leave Furbank out of the matchday squad named on Thursday.
Van Poortvliet was also first choice before injury kept him out of the World Cup and he takes over from Ben Spencer, with Harry Randall again providing bench cover.
It will be a big blow to Spencer, who started the defeats against New Zealand and Australia, his first starts in a six-year career, but after eight international appearances he is still without a win, having played in seven defeats and a draw.
Sleightholme, who looked sharp when scoring two tries off the bench last week, replaces concussion-absent Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, with Tommy Freeman switching to the right wing and Tom Roebuck on the bench.
Underhill starts at openside flanker after Tom Curry was also ruled out after suffering a concussion against New Zealand.
Having lost twice in New Zealand in July then at home to the All Blacks and Australia in the last two weeks – having led all four games late on – Borthwick is desperate to get back to winning ways.
However, he faces a daunting task against the world champions who, having added the Rugby Championship to their CV, got their European tour off to a solid start with a 32-15 victory over Scotland last Sunday.
England’s last meeting with South Africa was the World Cup semi-final just over a year ago when the Springboks snatched a late 16-15 victory.
“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.”
England team to play South Africa on Saturday (15.40GMT)
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 34 caps)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 13 caps)
13. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 29 caps)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 67 caps)
11. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 37 caps)
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 14 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 64 caps) – vice-captain
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 95 caps) – captain
3. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 43 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 86 caps) – vice-captain
5. George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps)
6. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 9 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 38 caps)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 35 caps) – vice-captain
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 42 caps)
17. Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 4 caps)
18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 117 caps)
19. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 13 caps)
20. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 19 caps)
21. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 9 caps)
22. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 98 caps) – vice captain
23. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 1 cap)
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris)
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