Centre Henry Slade, who did not play a minute of England’s Six Nations campaign earlier this year, has been recalled to the starting line-up to face Fiji on Saturday as head coach Steve Borthwick attempts to avoid a sixth successive Test defeat.
Slade, 33, has previously admitted that he was frustrated to be out of England’s midfield equation. He finished the domestic season in excellent form, leading Exeter to the Prem final.
His return means Northampton’s Tommy Freeman is deployed in his more accustomed wing position after a year-long experiment to convert him into an outside centre.
Guy Pepper replaces Tom Curry at openside flanker in the other change to the starting XV, while the uncapped trio of Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Noah Caluori and George Kloska are poised to make their Test debuts off the bench.
England: M Smith; Freeman, Slade, Atkinson, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Heyes, Coles, Martin, Chessum, Pepper, Earl.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Kloska, Curry, Pollock, Mitchell, Janse van Rensburg, Caluori.
