Eddie Jones demands his England players stand up to South Africa's

31 August 2016 04:53

Eddie Jones has demanded his England players stand up to South Africa's "bullies" when the rivals clash at Twickenham this autumn.

The Springboks are famed for their physical brand of rugby and Jones understands the importance of not being intimidated when they launch the first of four internationals at Twickenham on November 12.

It has been a decade since South Africa were last toppled in a 23-21 victory by Andy Robinson's England, and success has been elusive in the 12 fixtures since.

"We'll certainly pick our strongest team to play South Africa and will then take it from there," Jones told BT Sport's Rugby Tonight.

"We haven't beaten South Africa since 2006. You know what they are like - they are just bullies, so there's a big task for the first 23."

It has been two years since last meeting and this time the Springboks will be facing the Grand Slam champions and 3-0 conquers of Australia.

Jones' England have amassed a flawless nine consecutive victories in a stunning maiden season at the helm for the veteran Australian coach, who transformed the team from World Cup flops to a genuine force in the global game in eight months.

"I thought we'd win the Six Nations and without being arrogant, I think England should always win the Six Nations or be in contention to win it because you might have some bad luck along the way that stops you winning it," he said.

"Given the players and the resources we have, we should always be in a position to win it.

"I thought we could beat Australia 2-1, but I have to admit I was surprised how well we played in the third Test because we were tired and they had everything to play for.

"It was a real credit to our players, how they picked themselves up and got through that game and that's a great sign."

Jones believes that a factor in England's success has been the growing professionalism of the Aviva Premiership clubs.

"Having been in South Africa for a couple of weeks and seen how the Super Rugby sides operate there and having coached in Australia, you can see the clubs here are so professionally set up," he said.

"The quality and quantity of the coaching staff and facilities is outstanding and I believe that is starting to be replicated in the standard of play.

"I'd still like to see them be a bit more attacking, but I'm sure that's going to come.

"I think they're just a little bit too set in what they're going to do from certain positions rather than having a look at what the defence is doing and having a go.

"Having said that, the game is going in the right direction because you've got 12 clubs and no one knows who is going down.

"The competition at the bottom is going to be so intense and that's the beauty of promotion and relegation.

"One of the things that sets the Premiership apart from Super Rugby is that every game here is hotly contested. There's always a contest here."

England will wear their new, navy blue, England alternate kit for 2016-17 against Fiji on November 19. Argentina and Australia complete the autumn line-up.

* You can watch the full interview with Eddie Jones live on the New-look Rugby Tonight, which airs 8pm on BT Sport 1 HD and 4K UHD

Source: PA