Preview: South Africa vs. England - prediction, team news, lineups

South Africa host England at the Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the inaugural Nations Championship.

The Springboks posted a resounding 80-31 victory against the Barbarians in their previous outing, while the visitors tasted narrow defeat to France in Paris.

Match preview

With the 2027 Rugby World Cup fast approaching, South Africa will be licking their lips at the prospect of a third successive crown, with the Springboks by far and away the strongest international side on the planet.

Currently top of the World Rugby rankings by a convincing three-point margin, Rassie Erasmus’s side are on a relentless streak, winning each of their previous nine fixtures and finishing atop the Rugby Championship table in each of the latest two tournaments.

Since narrowly edging out New Zealand in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, the Springboks have also lost just four of 29 matches, three of which have been by a converted try score or less.

While they are strong across all areas, South Africa have especially flourished in attack over that span, failing to score 30 or more points on only nine occasions and posting upwards of 50 an impressive seven times.

As they prepare to host an inconsistent England side this weekend, the Springboks will be confident that they can make it four victories in a row against Steve Borthwick’s men and finally get their payback after falling to defeat when these teams last met in South Africa.

© Iconsport / PA Images

After a thoroughly disappointing Six Nations campaign, finishing only above Wales in fifth, England will be looking to bring back the feel good factor as they enter the inaugural Nations Championship.

Despite winning their first match of the tournament, thumping Steve Tandy’s men 48-7 at Twickenham Stadium, Borthwick’s men then lost each of their remaining Six Nations fixtures, ending with a 48-46 defeat in Paris courtesy of Thomas Ramos’s penalty conversion with the clock in the red.

Although their poor performances warranted a slump in results over the course of the campaign, England’s turn in form came as somewhat of a surprise to many, with the 2020 tournament champions heading into this year’s edition on an impressive 11-game winning run.

During that purple patch, Borthwick’s side had established themselves amongst the best teams in the world, beating the likes of New Zealand, Argentina and Australia, but ultimately came up well short against their nearest neighbours heading into springtime.

However, while the expectations will certainly be minimal heading into their contest with the scintillating Springboks, claiming victory on South African soil is not out the picture for the visitors, who did so on their most recent visit, winning 25-10 in Cape Town eight years ago.

South Africa form:

England form:

Team News

© Iconsport / PA Images

Both Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe grab their 50th appearances for South Africa this weekend, with the hosts also including the likes of Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende across the backline.

The Springboks pack is as strong as ever too, with Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit constructing a formidable front row, Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi starring behind, while Jasper Wiese starts at the rear.

Unfortunately for South African fans, they will have to wait until later into the match to see public enemy Henry Pollock enter the field, with the 21-year-old getting himself into several altercations with Springbok internationals when playing for Northampton Saints.

Alternatively, Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry and Ben Earl make up the back row of an English scrum that also features a returning George Martin after the second row required shoulder surgery last year.

Amongst the backs, Borthwick has opted with Jack van Poortvliet over Alex Mitchell at scrum-half and handed only a 15th international cap to George Furbank, who captained Northampton to Gallagher Prem glory last month.

South Africa starting lineup:

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Mani Libbok, 9 Grant Williams; 1 Ox Nche, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Siya Kolisi, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese

Replacements:

16 Jan-Hendrick Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Canan Moodie

England starting lineup:

15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Alex Coles, 5 George Martin, 6 Ollie Chessum, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl

Replacements:

16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Marcus Smith

We say: South Africa 35-20 England

England are undoubtedly a better side than their Six Nations campaign gives them credit for, but they face arguably the hardest test in rugby when they travel to South Africa this weekend.

Although the two sides have had some close encounters over the previous few years, the Springboks have mostly come out on top and we see that being the case once again on Saturday in a convincing win for the hosts.