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'Doof, doof': Eddie Jones has Boks' number, but England will have to be good enough to stop them

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England coach Eddie Jones. (Photo by Jason McCawley - The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
England coach Eddie Jones. (Photo by Jason McCawley - The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
  • England coach Eddie Jones expects the Boks to come at them hard when they meet at Twickenham on Saturday.
  • The Test is eagerly anticipated as a blockbuster, with the Boks last winning at the ground in 2014.
  • Jones hopes his team can carry over the belief from last week's game against New Zealand where they fought back from 25-6 to draw the game.

In London

England coach Eddie Jones expects the Springboks to be highly motivated and up to the task of wanting to topple his team when they meet at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Test will be the last one for both teams for the year, with the Boks on edge as they go into the game having last won at Twickenham in 2014.

The Boks also got a few things right with their attack in their 63-21 caning of Italy in Genoa last week, but England is a different rugby package.

READ | Eddie Jones commends SA's social responsibility, weighs in on Rassie-gate: 'Refs are going to make mistakes'

Jones expects the Boks and their powerful forwards to come at them with everything they have and they have to be very good to stop them.

Jones also added the Boks' strict discipline to what works for them makes them a difficult side to face.

"Well, I've never seen a Springbok side, not 100 percent at it. For any team playing against them, you just accept that's the case," Jones said.

"It's like playing against New Zealand, I've never seen New Zealand not turn up. I've never seen a Springbok team not turn up. That's just part of the game.

"They're very similar. They've still got three big contests: scrum, lineout maul, and the aerial contest.

"They're judged by the players' effort in those areas, how they can test, how combative they are in those areas.

"We know that. We know what’s coming, but you have to be good enough to deal with it."

Teams:

England

15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Alex Coles, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola

Substitutes: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jack Nowell

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Canan Moodie

The Autumn Nations Series has been a tricky one for England in that they unexpectedly dropped a game against Argentina, eased themselves to a big win against Japan, and came back from the dead to draw against the All Blacks.

In the form of the Springboks, they have another character test where they'll be up against a team that asks the same question repeatedly, but with intense physicality.

Jones said the belief they had from last week's fightback was immense, but they know the Boks are unrelenting in their physical examination.

Nick Mallett | Springboks miss golden opportunity in not starting Manie Libbok

"For us, the fantastic thing about the last game is how much belief we have in the way we want to play and sticking at it," Jones

"It's going to be tested again because these guys are going to come out of the blocks. Doof, doof, doof. Through the front door.

"They doof doof a lot and we're going to have to beat that. We're going to have to fight and fight and fight and when we get a chance to break them, we're going to have to go."

Kick-off is at 19:30 (SA time) on Saturday.

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