During the final eight triumph against Fiji, Steward was benched for the first time in his 29-cap Test career, giving the number 15 jersey to the more aggressive Marcus Smith.

However, Smith became an injury doubt after his defensive heroics in the Marseille match, ending the match with a bandaged head and a fat lip. As a result, he was left out of the starting 23.

Given the dominance of South Africa’s kicking game, Steward is the safer choice in the position and offers positional awareness, high-ball skill, and strong defense.

The last two changes are in the front five, where George Martin replaces Ollie Chessum and Joe Marler starts ahead of Ellis Genge. These are also unanticipated alterations.

England fields eight players who made it out of the starting XV that South Africa trounced 32–12 in the World Cup final in 2019. This is the same number selected by the Springboks when they announced their selection earlier on Thursday morning.

The South African squad that defeated France in their quarterfinal was the same one that was named.The following players represent England: Owen Farrell (captain), Freddie Steward, Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Elliot Daly, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Dan Cole, Jamie George, and Joe Marler.

Ollie Chessum, Billy Vunipola, Danny Care, George Ford, Ellis Genge, Kyle Sinckler, Ollie Dan, and Ollie Lawrence are the replacements.