Cumbrian Jamie Blamire has been confirmed as England’s starting hooker against world champions South Africa on Saturday.
It will be the biggest game of his short international career – only his fifth senior cap – with just one starting place previously.
The 23-year-old former Workington Zebras forward gets his chance because the two men ahead of him are sidelined.
Luke Cowan-Dickie was ruled out but the man called up to replace him, Jamie George has also been declared a non-starter through injury.
Despite his relative inexperience Blamire has scored six tries in those four games. Crossing in each game set a new record for an England forward.
Included in that tally was a hat-trick in a summer international with Canada while he got over once in each of the other three games, the latest against Australia at the weekend.
Ex-British and Irish Lions prop Alex Corbisiero has said that England now face an “uphill battle” against South Africa’s pack and George’s absence was “potentially game-changing”.
Captain Owen Farrell is also injured and prop Joe Marler has been named on the bench after isolating with COVID.
The last time the two sides met in the 2019 World Cup final the Springboks’ dominance up front was key to their 32-12 win.
Sale prop Bevan Rodd will be winning his second cap, so it is a very experienced front-row although tighthead Kyle Sinckler does have 47 international caps for England.
Head coach Eddie Jones is backing his rookies, though, and has promised to take-on South Africa’s much-lauded pack.
He said: “They said after the World Cup final, where they beat us fair and square, that they knew how to play us, they knew where our weaknesses were and they were implying that our forward pack was weak.
“Our forward pack’s not weak and we’ll have an opportunity on Saturday to show that.
“We are looking forward to taking them on in that physicality and we’re also looking forward to trying to expose the weaknesses in their game that they do have.
“There are opportunities to hurt them in other ways and we have to be brave enough to take those opportunities.”
