Jones keen to down Bok ‘bullies’

England coach Eddie Jones has said the side's main task in the Autumn internationals will be to take down South Africa's 'bullies'.

England coach Eddie Jones has said the side's main task in the Autumn internationals will be to take down South Africa's 'bullies' as he aims to build on his successful start in the role with a first win over the Springboks since 2006.

The Six Nations champions will go into the four home Tests brimming with confidence on the back of a nine-match winning streak, including a 3-0 whitewash of the Wallabies in Australia, since Jones took over after a dismal 2015 World Cup campaign.

However, Jones is fully aware that England need to improve physically if they want to match the very best teams in the world and is keen to first bring an end to their poor recent record against South Africa.

“We haven't beaten them since (2006) and you know what they are like, they're bullies, so that is a task for our first 23-man squad,” Jones told BT Sport of the November 12 encounter at Twickenham.

“We have got 36 Tests up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup so there is a purpose for every test. We will certainly pick our strongest team for South Africa and take it from there.”

England, who also host Fiji, Argentina and Australia after the Springboks, are currently second in the world rankings behind an all-conquering New Zealand side.

“If we want to be the best side in the world we need to get a lot fitter than we are at the moment. The great thing for us is that we haven't even touched on it yet,” the 56-year-old Australian added.

“We have another six or seven percent improvement at least, which is so exciting because over the next three years, we can build on that.” – Reuters