Pollock on the bench for England clash against Boks at Ellis Park
· Citizen
Rising loose forward star Henry Pollock will play off the bench for England when they take on the Springboks in the opening fixture of the inaugural Nations Championship at Ellis Park on Saturday.
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Jamie George captains the side, with Ollie Chessum and Ellis Genge serving as vice-captains.
“Playing South Africa at Ellis Park is one of the great tests in world rugby and an opportunity we’re excited to embrace,” said England coach Steve 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.”
Chessum and Tom Curry will play on the flanks, with Ben Earl at eighthman.
At the back, Jack van Poortvliet will wear the No 9 jersey with Fin Smith at flyhalf. In a young backline, the most experienced back is centre is Tommy Freeman with 27 caps.
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.
The Boks take on Scotland in Pretoria next week and Wales in Durban the following week.
Rassie Erasmus’ team includes Manie Libbok at flyhalf, while Siya Kolisi will captain the side.
England team:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, Seb Atkinson, Cadan Murley, Fin Smith, Jack van Poortvliet, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Ollie Chessum, George Martin, Alex Coles, Joe Heyes, Jamie George (capt), Ellis Genge. Bench: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Beno Obano, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Charlie Ewels, Guy Pepper, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith