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Saturday 3 November 2018 14:24, UK
We asked Bryan Habana, Will Greenwood and Stuart Barnes to give their thoughts on how important this game is for Eddie Jones as England host the Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
After a fairytale start to his tenure as England coach, things have gone a bit awry for Jones and a difficult autumn schedule against South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia could have far-reaching implications as he prepares for the 2019 World Cup.
A dreadful injury list offers Jones some protection, but a run of five defeats in six Tests means that he is under huge pressure to kick off the series with a win against the Springboks...
Bryan Habana says...
"It's incredibly important for Eddie to win this game. It's been a disappointing year for England, with three losses in the Six Nations, and a 2-1 series defeat against the Boks in June.
"Eddie will have been working very hard since that last-Test win in Cape Town, hoping to kick off the autumn with a victory.
"With the southern hemisphere big three all in England during November, Jones will be targeting a strong start to set the tone as they build towards the World Cup next year.
"With Rassie Erasmus giving a few players an opportunity due to the absence of those not available, the Springboks are going to be challenged in different departments, and how they respond to those challenges will be interesting.
Prediction: "South Africa will want to avenge their loss there in 2016, and I think we will see a very tight game, but I'm calling a South Africa win by four points."
Stuart Barnes says...
"The World Cup will be neither won nor lost on Saturday but if England lose with the All Blacks to come, it is going to make the short term deeply uncomfortable for Eddie Jones. You could argue that it is one of the biggest games of his career."
Prediction: "Despite the absence of Faf de Klerk, I look at South Africa's set-piece and their seemingly extra carrying power and I think they have to be favourites to win this game."
Will Greenwood says...
"There have been some mixed message from Eddie's press conferences which were 'in order to win the World Cup you could lose all these games' but then he said if he did lose all these games, then he is out of a job.
The reality is that, with all the injuries, Eddie can discover what sort of cover he has. There will be a lot of interesting questions he will want answered regarding certain players and certain combinations within the framework of winning. In terms of 2019, there are questions that Eddie Jones needs to find answers to that are more important than a W or an L. However, as he said to my boys down in Maidenhead RFC: "The beer tastes better when you win."
I don't think it is the end of the world if he loses this game, but what a loss does is that it creates an environment of tittle-tattle when it comes to media days and opening up newspapers. It becomes very difficult when you are building from a foundation of defeat.
The sun will come up on Sunday win or lose, however the mood in the England camp ahead of the All Blacks game will be set by that result. An international camp on the back of a defeat, having had five or six previous defeats, is very different to one on the back of a win.
Prediction: "I think it will be a close game - South Africa have a massive pack but I think we will handle them and I back England to win by five or six points."
#Followtherose this autumn with all of England's Tests live on Sky Sports throughout November. The action starts on Saturday, November 3 against South Africa before clashes against New Zealand, Japan and Australia.
