England vs South Africa: Young-gun forwards must step up to prove Eddie Jones isn’t on borrowed time

England have an injury list that could save Eddie Jones’ blushes, but fail to prove competitive up front and the uncomfortable questions will appear regardless

The big question for England this November is just how much – or how little – will be acceptable? Two wins? One win? Even a big, fat zero?

That seems to be what is on the horizon for Eddie Jones over the next four weeks on the basis that a side so understrength and so underpowered surely doesn’t have a chance of beating the All Blacks and, firstly, the gigantic Springboks.

Victories have been hard to come by in 2018 for England. The early Six Nations wins over Italy and Wales are a distant memory heading into this weekend’s opening Quilter International, given that just one win has come in their last six Test matches – seven if you count the loss to the Barbarians among the mire – and while the Rugby Football Union may still be behind their man in Jones, you do start to wonder how long Twickenham will be.

That’s the thing. Among this worst run in four years, the fans are still firmly behind the national team as they return to familiar ground in south-west London. But there have been signs of cracks appearing recently, with an uncomfortable clash between Joe Marler and a fan occurring in South Africa in the summer and many supporters starting to question whether the expensive day out at Twickenham is actually worth it.

Defeat against South Africa this Saturday would likely be followed by a loss to the All Blacks, unless the reigning world champions are about to lose a second Test of a calendar year for the first time in seven years. That leaves Jones with two crucial matches: a clash against his former side, Japan, which he has already hinted at rotating his side for, and a pivotal meeting with another of his ex-employers in the Wallabies that could be the deciding factor in whether he leads England into the Six Nations.

One thing seems for certain though. At this week’s training camp in Portugal, the players are still firmly behind the head coach and his vision for the future. Of course it’s very easy to appear happy when you spend eight days in the Algarve, but there is a spring in their step on and off the field that doesn’t resemble a side down in the doldrums.

They seem to have recaptured the same attitude that took them to the 2016 Six Nations Grand Slam and a record-equalling run of 18 straight Tests unbeaten. Whether that’s due to the new blood in the camp that hasn’t experienced the harrowing defeats this year or a recapturing of the win at all costs attitude that England held not so long ago remains to be seen, but thankfully we do not have long to wait.

The likelihood is that England’s harrowing injury list should see Jones through to the Six Nations. It’s worth remembering that after reaching the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-finals and winning the 2012 Six Nations Grand Slam, Wales managed to go seven Tests without a victory. They followed that by retaining the Six Nations crown the following year.

With so many names missing from England’s squad this autumn – and established ones at that – it’s hard to see what else Jones could do. Mako Vunipola, his not-so-little brother Billy and Joe Launchbury would all likely have started if available, while Joe Marler, Courtney Lawes, Sam Simmonds and Nathan Hughes would have been candidates to replace them had they not also been ruled out. And there was even more bad news on Friday when Manu Tuilagi, poised to return to international duty for the first time in more than two-and-a-half years, was ruled out on the eve of the Springboks clash with a “minor groin injury”. Co-captain Owen Farrell said that Tuilagi “seems fine” and that his withdrawal was more a case of “probably not one to risk” than more injury heartbreak, but Jones must be wondering when he and Tuilagi are finally going to catch a break.

Eddie Jones heads into the autumn internationals under pressure to turn England's form around (Action Images via Reuters)

With all this in mind, Saturday’s Test may not be the must-win encounter that the summer series suggested it would be, but it will be crucial in building momentum towards the actual match that Jones cannot afford to lose. If England’s young whippersnappers in the pack can prove they belong at international level, they have the backs outside them that can score against any team in the world, and it will at least give them the belief that they can dispatch a tier-two Japan side before taking out an out-of-sorts Australia side that will buy the entire side some breathing space through to the Six Nations, and probably the World Cup too.

But lose tomorrow in a crushing and brutal fashion, and follow it up with the same again next week, the writing may be on the wall for Eddie Jones.

Teams

England: Elliot Daly; Jack Nowell, Henry Slade, Ben Te’o, Jonny May; Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs; Alec Hepburn, Dylan Hartley, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Brad Shields, Tom Curry, Mark Wilson.

Replacements: Jamie George, Ben Moon, Harry Williams, Charlie Ewels, Zach Mercer, Danny Care, George Ford, Chris Ashton.

South Africa: Damian Willemse; Sbu Nkosi, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Aphiwe Dyantyi; Handre Pollard, Ivan van Zyl; Steven Kitschoff, Malcolm Marx, Frans Malherbe; Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit; Siya Kolisi, Duane Vermeulen, Warren Whiteley.

Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Wilco Louw, RG Snyman, Lood de Jager, Embrose Papier, Elton Jantjies, Andre Esterhuizen.