England vs South Africa: Owen Farrell starts at fly-half alongside Ben Te'o but Chris Ashton misses out

George Ford is named among the replacements along with Manu Tuilagi, while Mark Wilson beats Zach Mercer to the No 8 shirt in an inexperienced pack

Owen Farrell will make just his third start under Eddie Jones at fly-half after being named in the England side that will face South Africa along with Ben Te’o and Henry Slade, with Manu Tuilagi only making the replacements and Chris Ashton left out completely.

Farrell has featured at inside centre in 24 of his 26 England appearances since the start of 2016, and the co-captain rekindles a British and Irish Lions partnership with Te’o, despite the Worcester Warriors centre playing just 28 minutes of rugby this season due to thigh and calf injuries.

“We know what George [Ford] and Owen can do, so we've got that combination,” said head coach Jones on Thursday.

“I wanted to see the difference it makes playing Owen at 10 with bigger centres. It gives us a different way of being able to play. Tactically we'll be a little bit different.”

“Owen's a good decision maker and he has a very good tactical kicking game,” Jones added. “He's bit of a spiritual leader in our side so being close to the action will help in that regard.

“Ben's ready to start. He's a very good player – a Lions player. We know what he's capable of doing, he's come into camp fit, has worked hard to get over his injury and is a good ball carrier and a god defensive player.

“Slade is a good player and he gives us a left-footed kick. He' got good catching and running skills, a good decision maker. Manu's coming back nicely and we want to bring him along. He just has to keep doing the basics well.”

Jack Nowell is named on the right wing with Jonny May on the left, and with Elliot Daly at full-back there is no space for the returning Ashton in the match-day squad, meaning the 31-year-old’s four-year wait for an England return continues for at least another week.

As reported by The Independent, Dylan Hartley starts at hooker. The co-captain will win his 94th cap on Saturday, which is more than the rest of the forwards combined.

The back-row conundrum sees Jones make a surprise call in naming Newcastle Falcons flanker Mark Wilson at No 8, with Brad Shields wearing six and Tom Curry at openside flanker, leaving 21-year-old uncapped back-row Zach Mercer among the replacements.

Newcastle's Mark Wilson starts at No 8 (Getty)

Maro Itoje joins George Kruis in the second-row, and with Charlie Ewels on the bench his Bath colleague Elliott Stooke is the other player discarded from the 25-man squad.

Alec Hepburn beats Exeter Chiefs teammate Ben Moon to loosehead prop, with Lions tourist Kyle Sinckler named at tighthead ahead of Harry Williams.

England squad to face South Africa

Elliot Daly; Jack Nowell, Henry Slade, Ben Te’o, Jonny May; Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs; Alec Hepburn, Dylan Hartley, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Brad Shields, Tom Curry, Mark Wilson.

Replacements: Jamie George, Ben Moon, Harry Williams, Charlie Ewels, Zach Mercer, Danny Care, George Ford, Manu Tuilagi.