VIDEO: Farrell gets pivotal job against Boks
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: England coach Eddie Jones made some significant changes to the team to face South Africa in the first Test of the year-end internationals, at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Jones cited England’s need for physicality against South Africa as he welcomes Ben Te’o, Jack Nowell and George Kruis to his starting XV for the first time since the 2018 Six Nations.
Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell are named as co-captains in the 413-cap starting XV, the Saracens playmaker moving to flyhalf.
Leicester Tigers centre Manu Tuilagi is in line to make his 27th England appearance from the replacements bench, having last played for his country against Wales in the 2016 Six Nations, while Kyle Sinckler and Mark Wilson start in the pack.
Exeter Chiefs’ Alec Hepburn will make his starting debut for England, while uncapped players Zach Mercer of Bath and Chiefs’ Ben Moon are named as replacements.
“We have put in a new defence system and our attack looks more organised than it was on the South Africa tour.”
On taking on South Africa Jones said: “Against South Africa, you have got the physical battle up front and then you have to be tactically smart in how you attack against them.
“We need to find ways to gain momentum, then once we find momentum, convert that to points.
“We are really excited to be back at Twickenham Stadium. It’s been a long time and we can’t wait to play in front of 82,000 fans.”
“We’ve become very well organised in our set piece and have done a lot of good work in Portugal over the last week,” Jones said.
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (co-captain), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Brad Shields, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dylan Hartley (co-captain), 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Manu Tuilagi.
Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 15.00 (17.00 SA time)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Olly Holmes (Ireland)
