Steve Borthwick hailed George Furbank for his resilience after recalling him for his first England appearance in almost two years, to face South Africa.

England open their Nations Championship campaign against the world champions on Saturday, ahead of taking on Fiji, Argentina, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

It will be their first outing since losing 48-46 to France in their final Six Nations fixture in March, a defeat that ensured they finished fifth in the table with just one win in five games.

Their starting XV will show five changes from that loss, with Furbank the most notable returning face, having not appeared since a victory over Japan in November 2024, suffering from various recurring injuries since then. 

"George Furbank has had so many little setbacks that would really test anybody's character and resolve, and he has come through it all," Borthwick said.

"While he might not have a huge number of caps at Test level, he is an experienced, calm head and such a top-quality rugby player."

Henry Pollock is on the bench despite his strong domestic form alongside Furbank for Northampton Saints, while Jamie George takes over as captain with Maro Itoje rested.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Jack van Poortvliet, George Martin and Tom Curry are the other players to come into the team, alongside Furbank.

"Playing South Africa at Ellis Park is one of the great Tests in world rugby and an opportunity we're excited to embrace.

"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."

Ready to go 

Steve Borthwick has named his team for our Nations Championship opener against South Africa on Saturday, July 4 at 16:40 BST.@O2 | #WearTheRose

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 2, 2026

England starting XV: George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, Seb Atkinson, Cadan Murley, Fin Smith, Jack van Poortvliet; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (c), Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, George Martin, Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Beno Obano, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Charlie Ewels, Guy Pepper, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith.