“I think there is a few factors in it [selection], Scott Borthwick said.

“I assess all the players, cognisant of the travel we’ve had, the six-day turnaround.

“I decided to make some changes between the starting line-up and the bench.

Marcus Smith is concussed so unavailable for selection, but you’d think Freddie Steward was the safer option at full back for his aerial and defensive ability regardless.

George Martin also comes into the side in place of Ollie Chessum in the second row.

“Every minute he [George Martin] has been on the pitch he’s performed and he’s performed in some big moments. A real team man,” Borthwick said.

“He’s a young man, very athletic young man but, since I started working with him a few years ago, every challenge I’ve put in front of him, he’s embraced and ripped right into it.”

Ellis Genge also drops to the bench with Joe Marler and Dan Cole the preferred starting props.

“We’ve got three brilliant loose-heads in this squad,” Borthwick said.

“Ellis has been terrific and I thought he played really well last week. I think Joe coming back into the squad after some time away has been also an incredible influence around the group.

“I would say the performance of our bench through this tournament has been very, very good.

“Both of these players [Marler and Genge] are top-quality scrummagers and I think that’s really important given the strength of the South African scrum.

“Every piece of information has them as the best scrum in the world. So, we know we are going to need to scrum well throughout the game – not just at loose-head but understanding the combination of the two sets of front row forwards we have, that’s also important.

“I think Joe to start and Ellis to finish is the right combination this week.”