Wednesday 20 June 2018 17:15, UK
Eddie Jones says he has been impressed by Danny Cipriani's attitude during England's tour to South Africa as he decides on his team for Saturday's third and final Test.
England have lost both matches against the Springboks during their tour so far, which has extended their run of defeats in Test rugby to five, and will be seeking to avoid a series whitewash in Cape Town this weekend, live on Sky Sports Action.
However, one bright spark for Jones was Cipriani's impressive cameo off the bench during the second Test in Bloemfontein last week.
George Ford is currently England's first-choice fly-half, but Jones said Cipriani had made a positive impression since he arrived in South Africa.
"I've been impressed by him", Jones said. "I'm impressed by George Ford and I'm impressed by Alex Lozowski. They're all guys that are really working hard to get into the team.
"The thing that's impressed me about Danny is his attitude towards working hard and wanting to be part of the team."
England are missing several players from their regular squad for the tour of South Africa, but Jones said there was one player in particular he regrets not being able to pick.
"I think we've missed all of those (unavailable) players. Certainly against South Africa a player like Courtney Lawes would have been invaluable", said Jones.
"We understand that results aren't great and we're all disappointed by that. But in terms of moving forward, we're in a good position."
England won 25 of their first 26 Test matches under Jones following his appointment in 2015, but their form has nosedived in 2018 and the head coach admits they need to improve.
He said: "We've got a young team here - we've been averaging 400 caps per game.
"It's all about just trying to give them as much confidence as we can and trying to get them to understand there are going to be big moments in the game - and we need to play those big moments a little bit better than we have."
Watch the third and final Test between South Africa and England on Saturday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event at 3pm.
