ReportGeneralThe Guardian Rugby · Planet Rugby19 May· updated 20 May

Borthwick may rest Itoje and other senior players for July Tests against Springboks

Steve Borthwick may rest Maro Itoje and other senior England players for the Nations Championship, with Ollie Chessum expected to lead the side in at least one July Test — including the Johannesburg fixture against the Springboks on 4 July.

Steve Borthwick is keeping open the option of resting Maro Itoje and other senior England players for some or all of their Nations Championship fixtures in July, with a final decision deferred until the squad is announced next month. Ollie Chessum is expected to captain England in at least one of the Tests.

England open the Nations Championship against the Springboks in Johannesburg on 4 July before matches on two further continents in successive weekends, concluding in Santiago del Estero against Argentina on 18 July.

Sources

Tagged

Janse van Rensburg at the top of England's centre pecking order — and what it means for the Boks

Borthwick's centre headache has a new frontrunner: Janse van Rensburg is rated the likely starter at 12 for England's Tests against Fiji and Argentina, though he's ineligible for the opener against the Springboks. The piece ranks all options at 12 and 13, with Freeman locked in outside and Slade unlucky to be on the fringes.

AnalysisSpringboks

England should steal Rassie's two-squad playbook for their impossible summer schedule

Nick Easter argues England must adopt Rassie's split-squad model to survive a brutal summer window, and backs it up with a detailed first-choice XV for Ellis Park — with Fiji, not South Africa, flagged as the most dangerous fixture.

ReportSpringboks

Mitchell hamstring blow leaves England short at scrumhalf ahead of Springbok test

Alex Mitchell is doubtful for England's Nations Championship campaign, including the Springbok test in Johannesburg, after pulling a hamstring in a squad training camp.

AnalysisSpringboks

Rassie's Nations Championship reckoning: the July squads that will shape RWC 2027

A demographic deep-dive into the seven leading RWC 2027 contenders argues the Nations Championship compresses the selection cycle by a year, placing Erasmus at the sharpest decision point: defend the title with the 2023 spine or finally acknowledge the cost of carrying an ageing pack into Australian conditions.

PodcastGeneral

Springboks Through Irish Eyes: Gráinne Seoige on Loftus, Rassie, and Why SA Rugby Is Unlike Anything Else

Irish TV personality Gráinne Seoige tells the Lekker Rugby Pod that walking into Loftus for the 2024 Ireland test was the most intimidating rugby atmosphere she has ever experienced, and argues that Rassie Erasmus's cultural transformation of Springbok rugby is a bigger achievement than the World Cup wins.