New Zealand and Japan to visit England in November 2018

England's first fixture against New Zealand in four years has been confirmed for November 2018.

Eddie Jones' side will take on the world champions in the second game of a four-Test Old Mutual Wealth series at Twickenham, with all four to be shown live on Sky Sports.

South Africa are up first at headquarters on November 3, with the All Blacks, Japan and Australia visiting on the subsequent three Saturdays.

England last beat New Zealand in 2012, although they this year equalled a record of 18 straight Test wins set by Steve Hansen's side just months earlier, while their only meeting with Japan came way back in 1987.

Jones said: "The 2018 Old Mutual Wealth Series is incredibly important for England as we build towards the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

"We want to win that series 4-0 and we will need to play extremely well to beat four very good teams over a four-week period.

"The series will give us a really good indicator of where we are as a squad, a year out from the Rugby World Cup, and gives us a real focus on what we have to do over the next 12 months to be ready for that series and win.

"Over the next year we need to continue to develop a bulletproof side, that can find ways to win in matches, and we will have to work hard and be smart in what we do to bridge the gap between us and the All Blacks.

"Our ambition is to be the number one team in the world going into the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan."