Tuesday 30 October 2018 06:00, UK
England head coach Eddie Jones is prepared for an improving South Africa ahead of their showdown at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Springboks claimed a 2-1 series victory when the two sides met in the summer and Jones believes Saturday's opponents have made significant progress in their development during the recent Rugby Championship.
Rassie Erasmus' side claimed a headline-grabbing win against the All Blacks in New Zealand and victories over Australia and Argentina on their way to a second-place finish in the annual battle for southern hemisphere supremacy.
Springboks wing Aphiwe Dyantyi also finished as the joint top try scorer with his five tries propelling him onto the shortlist for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award.
"They are always physical, they are always brutal up front and this year, when they have had that momentum, they have been able to develop the ability to move the ball quickly to their outside backs who have got great pace," Jones told Sky Sports at the squad's training camp in Vilamoura, Portugal.
"They have probably just become more clinical in that area so we have just got to meet them up front because the game will be won there."
Injuries to a number of leading players have threatened to derail England's autumn campaign before it has begun but Jones remains positive ahead of their latest showdown with the Boks that will be followed by games against New Zealand, Japan and Australia.
"We have had a really good preparation so far," said Jones, whose side beat the Boks 25-10 win in their most recent encounter.
"I think the players have come in a lot better physically than they have been previously because most of them have had proper pre-seasons that they didn't have following the Lions tour last year and they are all in a very good spot to play for England."
The back-row battle is set to be pivotal at Twickenham on Saturday and Jones has been forced into a re-think with regulars such as Billy Vunipola, Nathan Hughes and Chris Robshaw among those sidelined.
"We have lost Billy and Nathan Hughes so there is competition between Ben Morgan, Zach Mercer and Mark Wilson in that spot," Jones said.
"We have an idea of who we are going to select, we'll just wait for a couple of training runs to confirm that."
Jones will name his side to face South Africa on Thursday.
