Eight England changes, including a curious start for Jonny May

Steve Borthwick has confirmed an England team to play Fiji on Saturday in their final Summer Nations Series outing that has eight changes from the XV comfortably beaten in Ireland last weekend – including a start on the left wing for Jonny May, a player who wasn’t part of the official squad of 33 for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Having copped an avalanche of criticism for their tame 10-29 surrender in Dublin, a defeat followed by the midweek confirmations of bans for red-carded duo Owen Farrell (vs Wales) and Billy Vunipola (vs Ireland), head coach Borthwick altered more than half of his starting team for a clash with the Fijians that will take place at a half-full Twickenham.

The London area will be affected by a train strike on Saturday, while the previous night’s match at England Rugby HQ between the All Blacks and the Springboks has also affected ticket sales to watch Borthwick’s struggling charges in their final outing before they travel to France for a finals campaign that commences on September 9 versus Argentina in Marseille.

All Black coach Ian Foster unpacks his team selection to face the Springboks

All Black coach Ian Foster unpacks his team selection to face the Springboks

There was speculation that Marcus Smith would be the starting No10 versus the Fijians, but his promotion from the bench wasn’t one of the four changes to the backline as George Ford is a repeat selection in that shirt.

Instead, when the team was confirmed at 12:45pm on Thursday, Max Malins and May replaced Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly on the wings, while Ollie Lawrence exchanged roles with the benched Joe Marchant to line out for the first time in a 13/12 partnership with Manu Tuilagi.

With Smith and sub scrum-half Danny Care both kept rooted to the bench, Ford will start at No10 with Alex Mitchell taking over at No9 from the excluded Ben Youngs. It is Mitchell’s first appearance this month as he was excluded from the England training squad at the end of June but earned an August 14 recall to take the RWC squad place of the ruled-out Jack van Poortvliet.

It was only around an hour later when the shattering reason for May’s surprise inclusion was finally explained. Speaking at his team announcement media briefing at Pennyhill, Borthwick revealed that Watson had been ruled out of the entire World Cup with a calf problem and could now be replaced in the squad of 33 by May.

He also explained that Daly had suffered a knee injury and that Arundell had encountered a “freak back spasm”, setbacks that made them unavailable for selection to face the Fijians.

There are also four changes to the starting pack from last weekend. At hooker, Theo Dan was named to start for the first time with Jamie Georgie dropping out. Dan Cole will be the starting tighthead for the first time since September 2019 versus USA in Kobe; Will Stuart moving to the bench with Kyle Sinckler missing out.

Elsewhere, Ollie Chessum, who came on as a sub last weekend 21 weeks after a training ground ankle dislocation, will start alongside Maro Itoje at second row.

With Ben Earl switching to No8 to fill the vacancy left by the suspended Vunipola, Jack Willis came in at openside for his first August start after two sub appearances. He packs down in the back row with match skipper Courtney Lawes, who is making his 100th Test appearance.

On the bench, there is a first Summer Nations Series selection for Jack Walker, who has finally come through his two months in-camp injury rehab. That means that Tom Curry, who is still unavailable, is the only one of the current RWC 33 not to be selected to play this month.

England insisted, though, that Curry is clear of his ankle issue and is set to resume full training. Lock George Martin was also unavailable for selection this weekend due to a knock.

“After another eventful and dramatic encounter against the No1 team in the world in Dublin last weekend, we are delighted to be back at Twickenham with our home supporters to welcome an in-form Fiji team,” said Borthwick.

“All of the Summer Nations Series Test matches have provided us with an opportunity to continue our preparations for the Rugby World Cup in France.

“Fiji have proven themselves to be a strong opposition and we look forward to what we expect to be an exciting and challenging game. Rest assured that we will be looking to convert the opportunities we have recently been creating week-on-week into points on the scoreboard.

“At this our last Test before heading to France, I want to thank our fans for all the support you continue to give us, and it means a lot to us that you will be behind us all the way on our World Cup journey.”

England (vs Fiji, Saturday – 3:15pm)
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 25 caps)
14. Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 20 caps)
13. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 13 caps)
12. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 52 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 72 caps)
10. George Ford – vice-captain (Sale Sharks, 84 caps)
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
1. Ellis Genge – vice-captain (Bristol Bears, 51 caps)
2. Theo Dan (Saracens, 2 caps)
3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 101 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 69 caps)
5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)
6. Courtney Lawes – captain (Northampton Saints, 99 caps)
7. Jack Willis (Toulouse, 12 caps)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 17 caps)

Replacements:
16. Jack Walker (Harlequins, 3 caps)
17. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 81 caps)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 28 caps)
19. David Ribbans (Toulon, 7 caps)
20. Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 20 caps)
21. Danny Care (Harlequins, 89 caps)
22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 23 caps)
23. Joe Marchant (Stade Francais, 18 caps)