England made three changes to their team ahead of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa, as they continue to prepare for the clash.
On Thursday, Steve Borthwick announced he had recalled full-back Freddie Steward to start while Joe Marler and George Martin are drafted into the pack.
Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum move to the bench but there is no place in the squad for Marcus Smith, the starting fullback against Fiji. Borthwick has confirmed that Smith was unavailable due to a head injury.
England’s back-to-back player of the year is one of the best under the high ball in the game and is a sturdy defender. France struggled to deal with South Africa’s aerial bombardment in their quarter-final but Steward will back his abilities.
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.
Loosehead prop Marler and huge 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.
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