One of England’s three changes for Saturday’s World Cup semifinal match at Stade de France versus South Africa is the return of Freddie Steward to the full-back position.

During the final eight triumph over 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 option in the position and offers positional awareness, high-ball expertise, and strong defense.

The final two changes are in the front five, where George Martin replaces Ollie Chessum and Joe Marler starts ahead of Ellis Genge. These are both 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 team earlier on Thursday morning.

The South African squad that defeated France in their quarterfinal is the same as the one that was selected.

England players: Owen Farrell (captain), Freddie Steward, Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Elliot Daly, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Dan Cole, Jamie George, Joe Marler, Alex Mitchell, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes, George Martin, Joe Marler.

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

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Ben Earl, wearing both the No. 8 and No. 7 jerseys thus far in the World Cup, has been one of England’s most impressive players, if not the most impressive player.

South Africa’s head coach, Jacques Nienaber, is aware that the English 104-cap vice-captain Courtney Lawes, the British & Irish Lions openside Tom Curry, and him form a deadly combination.

Following the announcement of his Springboks team to play England in the World Cup semi-final on Saturday, Nienaber praised Earl and Lawes for their effective two-man back row play against Argentina in the tournament’s opening match, saying that the back row of England “complement each other quite well.”

He remarked, “They have a good back row that complements each other pretty well.” “It was pretty amazing how the other two played and took on Tom Curry’s role, even after he was sent off against Argentina.” We obviously know them from the [English] Premiership, so they are a top-notch team. We watch them as well as our athletes as they perform.

Nienaber did point out that England’s loose forwards will be facing the same three that began the Springboks’ World Cup final triumph over England in 2019. This was before he showered the England players with accolades. The 15th time that Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Duane Vermeulen have started together is a back row record that has only been surpassed in green by Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, and Francois Louw, who have played together 17 times.

It’s going to be a good match-up, Nienaber said, “if you look at our back row, they all started the final in 2019 and they are all on form and playing well.”