England men’s head coach Steve Borthwick has named Sharks flanker Tom Curry in his starting XV to face South Africa on Saturday 4th July (kick-off 4.40pm BST).
Sharks front-row duo Asher Opoku-Fordjour and fit-again Luke Cowan-Dickie will begin the game at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, on the replacements bench.
Jamie George captains the side, with Ollie Chessum and Ellis Genge serving as vice-captains. The match marks England’s opening fixture in the inaugural Nations Championship, with matches against Fiji and Argentina to follow in the coming weeks.
“Playing South Africa at Ellis Park is one of the great Tests in world rugby and an opportunity we’re excited to embrace,” said Borthwick.
“We’ve prepared well since we arrived here last week and I sense a real excitement within the squad to get our Nations Championship campaign underway.”
Following the match in Johannesburg, England return for an ‘away’ fixture against Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool before travelling to Argentina to face Los Pumas at Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero in Round 3.
All Nations Championship matches will be broadcast live on ITV Sport.
SOUTH AFRICA v ENGLAND
Saturday 4 July 2026. Ellis Park, Johannesburg. KO 4.40pm BST.
15. George Furbank (Harlequins, 14 caps)
14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 13 caps)
13. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 27 caps)
12. Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 4 caps)
11. Cadan Murley (Harlequins, 6 caps)
10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 16 caps)
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 24 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 80 caps) – vice-captain
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 110 caps) – captain
3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 22 caps)
4. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 19 caps)
5. George Martin (Saracens, 21 caps)
6. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 35 caps) – vice-captain
7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 68 caps)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 51 caps)
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 58 caps)
17. Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, 4 caps)
18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, 6 caps)
19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 34 caps)
20. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
21. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
22. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 30 caps)
23. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 50 caps)
