England have recalled fullback Freddie Steward to start the World Cup semi-final against South Africa, while Joe Marler and George Martin are drafted into the pack.
In the team named by coach Steve Borthwick on Thursday, Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum move to the bench but there is no place in the squad for Marcus Smith, ruled out after failing a Head Injury Assessment earlier in the week following the collision he suffered early in the Fiji quarter-final.
Steward, England’s back-to-back player of the year, is one of the best under the high ball in the game and a sturdy defender.
France struggled to deal with South Africa’s aerial bombardment in their quarter-final but Steward will back his abilities in Saturday’s game in Paris and would have likely started even if Smith was fit.
The 22-year-old had played 28 consecutive matches before being rested for the Chile game. He returned for the final pool match against Samoa before missing out versus Fiji.
Borthwick saw something in Steward’s face when he did not pick him for his first game in charge of Leicester early in 2020. “I realised that he wants it and he’s ready no matter how old he is,” he said. “I put him in the next week and he’s been brilliant ever since.”
Loosehead prop Marler and lock Martin, making his second start of the tournament, have been brought in to help beef up England’s scrum against a South Africa pack who were impressively strong against France.
Martin, 22, a surprise teenage call up under Eddie Jones in 2021, is another who Borthwick has mentored since his academy days at Leicester.
“I’ve known him from being a very young man to someone who looks very much at home on the international stage,” he said. “He’s come into the team in two positions (flanker and lock) during this tournament and performed in some key moments.”
England go into the game seeking revenge for the 2019 final defeat by the Springboks and hoping to earn a showdown against New Zealand or Argentina, who meet in the other semi on Friday.
“We know the intensity of the match will be incredible but we are focusing on ourselves. We have been building our team towards this,” said Borthwick.
Saturday will be the teams’ sixth meeting in World Cups, with South Africa winning the previous four knockout games, including two finals. England’s sole success came in a 2003 pool match – the only time they managed a try in the five clashes.
England team:
Freddie Steward, Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell (capt), Alex Mitchell, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Dan Cole, Jamie George, Joe Marler. Replacements: Theo Dan, Ellis Genge, Kyle Sinckler, Ollie Chessum, Billy Vunipola, Danny Care, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence.