Rassie Erasmus, the South Africa head coach, says fly-half Danny Cipriani’s omission from England’s squad for the autumn internationals caught him by surprise.

Cipriani started England’s final Test of their series against South Africa this summer and was largely responsible for halting their six-match losing run by setting up Jonny May’s try that sealed a 25-10 victory. Yet despite carrying that scintillating form into the new season with Gloucester, England head coach Eddie Jones left him out of his 36-man squad for the Quilter Internationals with Owen Farrell and George Ford his preferred fly-half options.

Since then Cipriani has picked up a three-match suspension after being sent off for a high tackle on Munster centre Rory Scannell, and Erasmus is relieved that the Springboks will not be facing his prodigious gifts.

“Just because he’s a great talent, I was surprised he’s not involved,” Erasmus said. “But in terms of the way Eddie is building his squad, he has his ducks in a row in terms of who is his second and third choice and how he mixes and matches them. I just know Danny is a talented player and has certainly got a bag full of tricks.

“It’s difficult to prepare against him (Cipriani) but I wouldn’t say England are going to be easier to prepare for without him. With Cipriani in the mix in the last game he definitely brought something new to their game. But then Farrell and Ford next to one another have experience, so they can vary the game.”