Maro Itoje says best is yet to come as England muscle up for South Africa

"I feel we haven’t seen the best of us yet and
that if we put our best out on the field we are
going to be celebrating on Saturday"

Freddie Steward, Joe Marler and George Martin given World Cup semi-final starts as England spread experience across their 23 to counter Boks' 'so-called Bomb Squad'

Maro Itoje insists England’s best is still to come in this World Cup despite the loss of star Marcus Smith to injury.

Smith’s failure to recover from blows to the head he took against Fiji means Freddie Steward starts at fullback against South Africa tomorrow. Head coach Steve Borthwick also shuffles his pack to hand starts to prop Joe Marler and 18-and-a-half stone lock George Martin at the expense of Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum.

England have muscled up for their biggest test in four years since being hammered by the Springboks in the 2019 World Cup final, picking a bench they hope can diffuse the Boks' so-called Bomb Squad set of replacements - and Itoje says they have saved their best for now.

By Alex Spink.

Full story at Mirror