England keep faith in XV with only two changes, but 3 debutants wait on bench

Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Noah Caluori and George Kloska are all poised to make their England debuts from the bench on Saturday against Fiji in round two of the Nations Championship at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Searching for their first win in six Test matches, and only second of 2026, head coach Steve Borthwick has refrained from making wholesale changes to his squad from the one that fell 45-21 to South Africa at Ellis Park last week, with only two changes to the starting XV.

In the absence of the injured Cadan Murley, Tommy Freeman will shift from outside centre to his more familiar role on the wing, with Henry Slade joining the midfield after being on the bench in Johannesburg. The second change will see Guy Pepper start at openside flanker, swapping roles with Tom Curry, who will join the substitutes in Liverpool.

The bench has seen plenty more change, however, with only four survivors from last week’s Test match. One of those is Asher Opoku-Fordjour, who will provide cover at loosehead prop this week in place of the injured Beno Obano, having been a tighthead replacement in South Africa.

The Sale Sharks prop’s move to loosehead has opened the door for Bristol Bears tighthead George Kloska to make his debut from the bench, alongside his South African-born club-mate Van Rensburg, who qualified for England this week, and teenager Caluori.

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The inclusion of both Van Rensburg and Caluori means England will adopt a 5-3 split on the bench for the first time in over a year, with Charlie Ewels dropping out of the squad to accommodate a back. England therefore have no second-row cover on the bench, but will start again with Ollie Chessum in the back-row.

“We’ve had a really positive week of preparation, and the players have worked hard in training,” said Borthwick.

“We know Fiji will provide a tough challenge. They are a dangerous side who will demand the very best from us.

“It’s fantastic to be playing at Hill Dickinson Stadium, which is an outstanding venue. There is a real passion for rugby across the north of England, and we’re looking forward to experiencing a brilliant atmosphere in Liverpool.”

England XV: 15 Marcus Smith (Harlequins); 14 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), 13 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), 12 Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs); 10 Fin Smith (Northampton Saints), 9 Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); 1 Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), 2 Jamie George (Saracens, captain), 3 Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), 4 Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), 5 George Martin (Saracens), 6 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), 7 Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby), 8 Ben Earl (Saracens)

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), 17 Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), 18 George Kloska (Bristol Bears), 19 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), 20 Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), 21 Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), 22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears), 23 Noah Caluori (Saracens)