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South Africa vs England: Eddie Jones in defiant response to speculation over his future after series defeat

England must win this weekend’s dead rubber with South Africa to avoid a seventh consecutive defeat that would raise serious questions about Jones’ position

Durban

Monday 18 June 2018 17:28 BST

Eddie Jones insisted he has no concerns over his future as England head coach (Getty)

Eddie Jones has delivered a defiant response to the speculation over his future generated by England’s series defeat in South Africa Rugby.

Free State Stadium was the setting for a fifth-successive loss that has turned Saturday’s climax to the tour in Cape Town into a dead rubber with the revitalised Springboks already out of sight.

The Rugby Football Union [RFU] has given Jones its backing amid scrutiny over his position, but the Australian is under intense pressure to reverse an alarming slump that began in the recent Six Nations.

South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

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1/30South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

<b>England:</b> Elliot Daly – 6 out of 10

Played more on the wing than at full-back. Another kicking error when he booted the ball straight into touch, but his passing was a delight to watch as he played a hand in both tries.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Jonny May – 7 out of 10

Another week, another devastating finish to continue his impressive tour as he burned past Kolisi and Am and Dyantyi and stepped inside Nkosi to score.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Henry Slade – 5 out of 10

Has disappointed on the tour and was unable to make a significant impact on the game.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Owen Farrell – 6 out of 10

Looked too fired up for the match early on as he sought out any scrap possible on the field in an attempt to take the aggression to the Springboks. Some lovely passes out the back-field and sent Brown over for his try.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Mike Brown – 7 out of 10

Another early try got England off to a flying start. Reverted to his more natural position at full-back, and made an important tackle on Dyantyi that halted a quick Springboks counter-attack.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

George Ford – 6 out of 10

Made one good break in the second half that Launchbury followed with a knock-on, but otherwise he struggled to have an impact on the match. Looked to kick more, which brought early success, but South Africa soon wised up to the tactic.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Ben Youngs – 6 out of 10

Off the pace and slowed down English ball. Will regret his behaviour in post-match interview come the morning.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Mako Vunipola – 4 out of 10

One of his worst performances in an England shirt and will be disappointed with his display. Gave away a needless penalty for slapping Pieter-Steph du Toit in the face.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Jamie George – 5 out of 10

Fairly quiet in the loose but accurate in the lineout, replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie as the game drifted away from England.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Kyle Sinckler – 5 out of 10

Stood up well in the opening scrum but the tie turned on him dramatically in the second half as he got shove up and out of the front-row that led to a penalty try.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Maro Itoje – 5 out of 10

Ill-discipline once again hampered his game as he conceded two penalties in a minute that led to three points for South Africa. For some reason his performances in the England shirt don’t match up to those in the Saracens jersey of late.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Joe Launchbury – 6 out of 10

Added some punch in the scrum and got around the park well – particularly in attack.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Brad Shields – 7 out of 10

Put in a good shift with a number of strong carries, and could have bagged a second-half try had Mostert not knocked the ball out of his hand as he grounded the ball. England’s best forward by a country mile.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Tom Curry – 6 out of 10

Tom CurryTook a nasty-looking blow to the head in a head-on collision with De Klerk that didn’t lead to an HIA, and secured one important turnover penalty on his line.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Billy Vunipola – 5 out of 10

Looked a bit sharper than last week, only for his injury curse to strike again. Powerful run made precious ground for Mike Brown’s opening try, but forced off shortly before half-time. If he didn’t have bad luck...

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

<b>South Africa:</b> Willie le Roux – 6 out of 10

Enjoyed success in the outside channel to cause England problems, although defensively he was caught out of position for the opening try and was suspiciously absent for the second.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

S’busiso Nkosi – 6 out of 10

No fireworks compared to his first Test double and was stumped by May’s footwork.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Lukhanyo Am – 7 out of 10

Defensively there’s question marks over his decision-making but in attack he was very strong and offered a good option to get over the gainline.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Damian de Allende – 7 out of 10

Carried strongly and had an eye-catching break in the first half. Stook out defensively too as he led the defensive line.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Aphiwe Dyantyi – 6 out of 10

A good chip-and-chase forced Daly to carry back over his try line, but left for dead by May.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Handre Pollard – 7 out of 10

Controlled the game well and kept his foot on the throttle while showing is array of passing ability. Only blip was a missed penalty he really should have kicked.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Faf de Klerk – 7 out of 10

Wasn’t given the time and space that he was afforded in the first Test early one but adapted well and was again one of the key influencers on the game. Kept the England back three pinned deep with smart box-kicks.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Tendai Mtawawira – 8 out of 10

One of the standout players on the special occasion of his 100th cap. A glorious break in the first-half led to Vermeulen’s try, and he stood up well in the scrum after an early wobble. Took his leave early in the second half after an impressive shifts.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Bongi Mbonambi – 7 out of 10

Brought good physicality to the Springbok defence and made one strong break for about a 30-metre gain.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Frans Malberbe – 7 out of 10

Got the better of Vunipola in the front-row battle and defended well around the fringes.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

RG Snyman – 7 out of 10

Another good performance from the giant lock who did more than his fair share of carrying and disrupted the English lineout.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Franco Mostert – 7 out of 10

A defensive thorn in the side of England as he hit anything that moved in white. Brilliant tackle prevented Shields from scoring a certain try as he knocked the ball out of his hands as he dived to ground it.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Siya Kolisi – 7 out of 10

Isolated Jonny May to win a crucial penalty that Pollard turned into three points and he led the defensive effort by example.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Pieter-Steph du Toit – 7 out of 10

A good return to the side and justified his selection over Jean-Luc du Preez. Good support play and disruptive in the breakdown, even if that led to a slap from Vunipola.

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South Africa vs England second Test player ratings

Duane Vermeulen – 9 out of 10

Brilliant across the park in all aspects as he scored a try with a lovely finish, stepping inside Ford and Billy Vunipola, got stuck into England with some huge tackles and carried strongly throughout. The best player by some way.

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“I chat to [RFU chief executive] Steve Brown regularly. I don’t ask for his full support,” Jones said.

“I do my job and that’s focusing on coaching the team as well as I can. I’m not involved in those decisions so I’m not worried about it.

“I love the team. I love coaching the team. I’m excited about where we’re going to go.

“I realise this is a tough time and that our fans and supporters will be disappointed, but all I can assure you is we’re doing everything we can, every minute of the day, to turn this team around.

“The morale’s been very good. We’re disappointed but it’s been very good. We’re focusing on winning in Cape Town and putting in our best performance of the tour.”

England’s hopes of salvaging pride at Newlands have been hit by the loss of the Vunipola brothers.

In a yet another savage blow in a 15-month period decimated by injury, Billy has returned home after re-fracturing the arm broken at the start of the year in the first half of Saturday’s 23-12 defeat in Bloemfontein.

Billy Vunipola has suffered a re-fracture of his arm (Getty)

Billy was making an impression on South Africa until the recurrence of the problem that forced him out for fourth months and he now faces another extended spell on the sidelines.

Mako, the loosehead prop, has returned home to attend the birth of his first child and has been replaced in the squad by Alec Hepburn.

“We know that Billy has a fracture and will be further investigated back home. I’ve got great confidence he’ll come back,” Jones said.

“As we saw, his second game was immeasurably better than his first game. The disappointing thing is that he’s injured again but he’s a young guy and a driven player.

“He’s very important for us and I’ve no doubt he’s got the desire and attitude to get back as quickly as he can.

“Mako’s gone home for family reasons, which we agreed at the start of the tour. He’s having a child so is going home for that.”

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