England vs South Africa - RWC semi-final TV Channel, kick-off time and team news

21 October 2023 , 09:00

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Ben Earl and England face a tough test on Saturday in the Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa (Image: (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images))

England face South Africa on Saturday in the Rugby World Cup semi-final, with both teams vying to reach back-to-back finals.

The Springboks are the defending champions, having beaten England comprehensively in Yokohama four years ago. Steve Borthwick was part of the England coaching staff under Eddie Jones that day, and he will be plotting an unlikely win as head coach against a side who knocked out hosts and pre-tournament favourites France last Sunday.

England beat Fiji in Marseille just hours earlier and have relocated to Paris for this week’s semi-final, with the Springboks playing their third game in the French capital so far this tournament. Having looked every inch the defending World Champions on Sunday night, South Africa come into the match as strong favourites against an England team who have defied low pre-tournament expectations to become the last remaining Northern Hemisphere left in the competition.

England have beaten the Springboks as recently as 2021, with Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell having played in a 10-12 axis that day as they ran out 27-26 winners at Twickenham. That combination won’t be utilised on this occasion, with Smith having failed to recover from a concussion suffered during last week’s bruising encounter with Fiji.

History suggests that the Springboks will prevail in this match, with wins four out five times when the teams have met in World Cups, with two final victories. The teams have never met in a semi-final, however, and England could benefit from having had a considerably less challenging route to this stage in the tournament than their opponents.

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Here is how you can follow the action:

When is England vs South Africa?

The match will be played at the Stade de France, Paris on Saturday, October 21st and kicks off at 8 pm UK time.

How to watch England vs South Africa

The match will be live on ITV, with the broadcast beginning at 7pm UK time. You can watch live on your TV, or across a range of devices. You can access the full list of available platforms and get instructions on how to stream live ITV programmes .

Team News

England have made some slight alterations to their starting XV for the semi-final, with Steve Borthwick seemingly making changes to counter the strength of South Africa’s forward pack.

Joe Marler and Dan Cole start for England in Saturday's semi-final against South Africa ((Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images))

Joe Marler comes in for Ellis Genge at loosehead prop, with Dan Cole retaining his role as tighthead in a move which should provide additional stability at the scrum. Meanwhile, George Martin has replaced Leicester Tigers teammate Ollie Chessum in the second row, with another Tiger, Freddie Steward, also reclaiming his starting spot at full-back in the absence of Marcus Smith.

South Africa, meanwhile, have opted for an unchanged team from their quarter-final win over France, with Cobus Reinach retaining his starting berth in place of Faf De Klerk at scrum-half. This selection means that head coach Jacques Nienaber has retained the 5/3 bench split, which he has reverted to as the tournament has progressed, meaning that the so-called Springbok ‘bomb squad’ could be less of a factor in the closing stages of the match.

England:

1 Joe Marler

2 Jamie George

3 Dan Cole