Alex Corbisiero, who has been limited to just two appearances for London Irish this season after a knee injury, returns to the starting line-up in the absence of the injured Joe Marler.

Also in the forwards Chris Robshaw, who captained England to second in this year’s RBS 6 Nations, is joined by Tom Wood at blindside flanker and Ben Morgan returns at No.8.

And it is not just in the forwards that Lancaster has opted to wield the axe after his side’s disappointing defeat to Australia as Ben Youngs replaces Danny Care at scrum-half and Mike Brown comes onto the left wing for Charlie Sharples.

There are also call-ups to the bench for the first time in this series for James Haskell, Mouritz Botha and Jonathan Joseph.

Head coach Lancaster said: “We have picked a team that will give us the best chance of beating South Africa. There were some tight calls, which is what you want as coaches, but the players we have brought into start have been training well.

“They will bring a real motivation to make the most of their opportunity and will suit the challenge we face against a tough and physical South African team.”  

ENGLAND:

15. Alex Goode
14. Chris Ashton
13. Manu Tuilagi
12. Brad Barritt
11. Mike Brown
10. Toby Flood
9. Ben Youngs
1. Alex Corbisiero
2. Tom Youngs
3. Dan Cole
4. Joe Launchbury
5. Geoff Parling
6. Tom Wood
7. Chris Robshaw
8. Ben Morgan

Replacements:
16. David Paice
17. David Wilson
18. Mako Vunipola
19. Mouritz Botha
20. James Haskell
21. Danny Care
22. Owen Farrell
23. Jonathan Joseph