Published: 13 hours ago | 4 July 2026 05:15 EDT
Updated: 8 hours ago | 4 July 2026 10:31 EDT
George Furbank has been withdrawn from England’s matchday squad just hours before taking on South Africa at Ellis Park in their opening match of the Nations Championship.
The 29-year-old was named to start at full-back by Steve Borthwick in Johannesburg in what would have been his first Test since 2024 after a string of injuries. The Telegraph have reported that he has been taken to hospital with appendicitis, denying him the chance to add to his 14 England caps and likely ruling him out of the remaining Tests against Fiji and Argentina.
Marcus Smith has been promoted from the bench to start at full-back, offering a similar attacking profile to Furbank.
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Freddie Steward had already been ruled out of playing due to an ankle injury, leaving England thin on the ground in specialist full-backs.
Henry Slade has been confirmed as Smith’s replacement on the bench as part of a 6-2 split with Alex Mitchell.
Fixture
Nations Championship
South Africa
45 - 21
Full-time
England
All Stats and Data
England XV
15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 50 caps)
14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 13 caps)
13. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 27 caps)
12. Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 4 caps)
11. Cadan Murley (Harlequins, 6 caps)
10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 16 caps)
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 24 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 80 caps) – vice-captain
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 110 caps) – captain
3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 22 caps)
4. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 19 caps)
5. George Martin (Saracens, 21 caps)
6. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 35 caps) – vice-captain
7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 68 caps)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 51 caps)
Replacements
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 58 caps)
17. Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, 4 caps)
18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, 6 caps)
19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 34 caps)
20. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
21. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
22. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 30 caps)
23. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 74 caps)
