diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yaml b/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yaml
index 3dbe9531735..e38254ac29f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-name: Create Release Branch
+name: Create Release Branch and Pin System Tests
 
 on:
   push:
@@ -37,13 +37,12 @@ jobs:
         id: define-release-branch
         run: |
           TAG=${{ steps.determine-tag.outputs.tag }}
-          echo "branch=test/${TAG%.0}.x" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" # TODO: change back to release/ branch after testing
+          echo "branch=release/${TAG%.0}.x" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-      - name: Checkout dd-trace-java at tag
+      - name: Check out repo at tag
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # 6.0.2
-        # TODO: uncomment after testing
-        # with:
-        #   ref: ${{ steps.determine-tag.outputs.tag }}
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ steps.determine-tag.outputs.tag }}
 
       - name: Check if branch already exists
         id: check-release-branch
@@ -76,7 +75,7 @@ jobs:
           scope: DataDog/dd-trace-java
           policy: self.pin-system-tests.create-pr
 
-      - name: Checkout dd-trace-java at release branch
+      - name: Check out repo at release branch
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # 6.0.2
         with:
           ref: ${{ needs.create-release-branch.outputs.release-branch-name }}
@@ -86,7 +85,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           echo "sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      - name: Define pin-system-tests branch name
+      - name: Define pin-system-tests branch name from date
         id: define-pin-branch
         run: echo "branch=ci/pin-system-tests-$(date +'%Y%m%d')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pin-system-tests.yaml b/.github/workflows/pin-system-tests.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 5d82db5e3ba..00000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/pin-system-tests.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,113 +0,0 @@
-name: Pin system tests
-
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      release-branch-name:
-        description: 'The minor release branch name (e.g. release/v1.54.x)'
-        required: true
-        type: string
-  # run workflow when any branch is created
-  create:
-
-jobs:
-  # TODO: Remove this job after confirming the github.ref when a release branch is created
-  print-github-ref:
-    name: "Print full github.ref"
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Print github.ref
-        run: |
-          echo "github.ref: ${{ github.ref }}"
-
-  pin-system-tests:
-    name: "Pin system tests"
-    if: github.event_name != 'create' || contains(github.ref, 'release/v')
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-      id-token: write # required for OIDC token federation
-    steps:
-      - uses: DataDog/dd-octo-sts-action@acaa02eee7e3bb0839e4272dacb37b8f3b58ba80 # v1.0.3
-        id: octo-sts
-        with:
-          scope: DataDog/dd-trace-java
-          policy: self.pin-system-tests.create-pr
-
-      - name: Define base branch
-        id: define-base-branch
-        run: |
-          if [[ -n "${{ github.event.inputs.release-branch-name }}" ]]; then
-            BASE_BRANCH=${{ github.event.inputs.release-branch-name }}
-          else
-            BASE_BRANCH=${GITHUB_REF#refs/heads/}
-          fi
-          echo "base_branch=${BASE_BRANCH}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-      
-      - name: Checkout the repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ steps.define-base-branch.outputs.base_branch }}
-      
-      - name: Get latest commit SHA of base branch
-        id: get-latest-commit-sha
-        run: |
-          echo "sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-      - name: Define branch name
-        id: define-branch
-        run: echo "branch=ci/pin-system-tests-$(date +'%Y%m%d')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-      - name: Check if branch already exists
-        id: check-branch
-        run: |
-          BRANCH=${{ steps.define-branch.outputs.branch }}
-          if git ls-remote --heads origin "$BRANCH" | grep -q "$BRANCH"; then
-            echo "ERROR: Branch $BRANCH already exists - please delete it and re-run the workflow."
-            exit 1
-          else
-            echo "Branch $BRANCH does not exist - creating it now."
-          fi
-      
-      - name: Update system-tests references to latest commit SHA on main
-        run: ./tooling/update_system_test_reference.sh
-      
-      - name: Check if changes should be committed
-        id: check-changes
-        run: |
-          if [[ -z "$(git status -s)" ]]; then
-            echo "ERROR: No changes to commit - the system-tests reference was not updated."
-            exit 1
-          else
-            echo "Changes to commit:"
-            git status -s
-          fi
-      
-      - name: Commit changes
-        id: create-commit
-        run: |
-          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-          git commit -m "chore: Pin system-tests for release branch" .github/workflows/run-system-tests.yaml
-          echo "commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-      
-      - name: Push changes
-        uses: DataDog/commit-headless@05d7b7ee023e2c7d01c47832d420c2503cd416f3 # action/v2.0.3
-        with:
-          token: "${{ steps.octo-sts.outputs.token }}"
-          branch: "${{ steps.define-branch.outputs.branch }}"
-          head-sha: "${{ steps.get-latest-commit-sha.outputs.sha }}"
-          create-branch: true
-          command: push
-          commits: "${{ steps.create-commit.outputs.commit }}"
-
-      - name: Create pull request
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.octo-sts.outputs.token }}
-        run: |
-          gh pr create --title "Pin system tests for release branch" \
-            --base ${{ steps.define-base-branch.outputs.base_branch }} \
-            --head ${{ steps.define-branch.outputs.branch }} \
-            --label "tag: dependencies" \
-            --label "tag: no release notes" \
-            --body "This PR pins the system-tests reference for the release branch." \