England launch the 25,000 mile odyssey that is their July tour with a shot at the world champions when they clash with South Africa on Saturday.
Here, we look at five talking points entering the Nations Championship opener.
The ultimate test
Facing the 2019 and 2023 World Cup winners at their spiritual home is the game’s ultimate challenge and the mammoth obstacle England must overcome if they are to end their four-Test losing run. Victory at Ellis Park has been managed just once before by an England side when John Pullin’s heavy underdogs prevailed 18-9 in 1972. The odds are heavily stacked against Steve Borthwick’s team, who have rested captain Maro Itoje for their entire July tour, but in their favour is that the Springboks are likely to show some ring rust as they make their first appearance of 2026.
Public enemy number one
Henry Pollock’s reputation in South Africa was made clear when he was approached at England’s team hotel by a Congolese man and told ‘you’re Public Enemy number one!’. Just 10 caps and one start into his Test career and across the world the flamboyant 21-year-old is the player fans love to hate. When he steps off the bench he can expect a brutal welcome from the giant Springboks forwards that would delight Ellis Park. Rugby’s ‘Mr Marmite’ may polarise opinions, but he has unquestionably raised the profile of the game.
Centre of attention
Borthwick’s conviction that Tommy Freeman is the right fit at outside centre remains rock solid, to the point he is willing to test him and rookie Seb Atkinson against imposing South Africa duo Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel. It is a brave call by England’s head coach, who has chosen a world class wing at 13 while overlooking the experienced and in-form Henry Slade. By Saturday night Borthwick will have a better idea of whether his Freeman experiment has a long-term future.
Ready for altitude
While not posing quite the same challenge as the 7,220 feet heigh Azteca Stadium where England face Mexico in the last 16 of the World Cup in the early hours of Monday, Ellis Park’s location 5,750 feet above sea level will still provide a formidable conditioning challenge. Under Eddie Jones in 2018, England misjudged their preparation and having raced into a 24-3 lead in the opening 18 minutes, they ran out of gas and eventually lost 42-39. Borthwick’s men arrived in Johannesburg 10 days before their clash with South Africa and before setting off completed gruelling Wattbike sessions while wearing oxygen-restricting altitude training masks. The expectation is that this time they will be ready.
Full flex from the Springboks
It is not just the thin air that will have made England gulp this week. On Monday, four days before the deadline to name his team, Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus flexed his muscles by picking a fully-loaded team led by Siya Kolisi and including the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe. For England it is a savage start to the inaugural Nations Championship, the new biennial competition based around the July and November international windows.