When Eddie Jones was trying to motivate his Australia teams before playing England he instinctively knew which green and gold buttons to press. “We were part of the empire and we always looked up to England,” he recalled. “England was seen as the mother country; it’s like the little brother trying to take on the big brother.” Stereotypical labels or not, the plucky Aussie battlers would pile into the arrogant Poms and everyone knew their lines by heart.

A slightly subtler narrative is involved these days. Jones is employed by England and sledging the great southern land of his birth is becoming less straightforward. Under the well-travelled Michael Cheika the Wallabies have won their last seven Tests and are finishing the year like Melbourne Cup winners. The routine home win anticipated by Twickenham’s patrons suddenly feels as nailed on as World Rugby’s recommendation of South Africa to host the 2023 World Cup.

This partly explains why Jones has been reacting so testily to the widespread ho-humming that followed his side’s 21-8 grindathon against Argentina. “If you read the papers it’s like we’ve gone into reverse after one 80-minute performance,” he muttered. “If I can get them going forward even in first gear, we’ll be doing well.”

Fuelling his sarcasm is the belief that he deserves more respect for steering England to 20 wins in his 21 Tests in charge. “I must admit I really struggle with the sort of commentary I’m hearing about the team. We’ve had 21 games and won 20 of them. We’ve had one game people have called flat and now the whole team has stalled. Give me a break, guys.”

It is a tricky one. Of course English rugby has good reason to be grateful to Jones for picking up the pieces so expertly in the wake of the 2015 World Cup implosion. Equally, it is what happens next that will define his stewardship. It is only a fortnight ago, after all, that Jones was urging everyone to draw a line under the initial phase of his tenure and encouraging all his players to aim higher. Beating Argentina at home with a mere 37% possession may have reflected well on England’s defensive resilience but it was hardly the stuff of world-beaters.

Some of these deficiencies may, admittedly, have received less prominence had Jones not been caught on camera cursing his own team’s stupidity. As with Martin Johnson thumping his desk in 2009 when Danny Care was sent to the sin-bin in Ireland, it inevitably became the story, prompting Jones to return fire at the dastardly television rights holders who help fund his generous salary.

“What else do you want me to do? I’m sure Sky Sports are going to be on me the whole game. We’ve asked them to get a bit closer and have more shots. Don’t follow the rugby, just follow me. I’ve got a nice new white English pen; if I throw that, it’s going to create some great television. If the rugby doesn’t entertain you, I’ll find another way. I’m always excited, mate. What do I have to do this week? Jump from the grandstand?”

When it comes to jousting with the media – “I don’t know what excites you guys but it’s definitely not winning consistently” – Jones remains in a class of his own. But if New Zealand were coming to Twickenham this weekend, would England beat them? Have they enough to see off the Wallabies, let alone make a long-term statement? Slide backwards – or sideways – now and the Six Nations will become a proper bunfight.

Jones flatly rejects this angle of inquiry and argues people are not seeing the wood for the eucalyptus trees in the aftermath of last summer’s Lions tour. “By 2018 at some stage we’ll have all our players back, we’ll have them fit and then you’ll see the team roar. Until that stage we’ve just got to stall along. It’s like an old Vauxhall Viva that used to stall all the time. You’ve got to get out and get someone to help you push it – that’s where we are at the moment. We don’t need a bit of momentum, we need to keep getting better.”

It does not require an interpretative lip-reader to summarise this as follows: wait until we get Billy Vunipola, Ben Te’o, Manu Tuilagi and Jack Nowell back fit and Maro Itoje on from the start and then tell me England do not have game-breakers.

Australia, though, have more caps in nine positions out of 15 and Kurtley Beale’s return has offset the loss of Israel Folau and the sabbatical-taking David Pocock. Last month they beat New Zealand and Jones knows Cheika well enough to read his mind on these occasions. “It’s an important game, it’s England v Australia and they’re always important. Certainly when I was Australia coach it was the game on the tour you wanted to win. I’m sure Australia’s the same now.”

Should Australia prevail for the first time since walloping their hosts 33-13 in the 2015 World Cup pool stages, it would be Jones’s first defeat in five meetings as England’s coach. On tour down under in 2016 England were outstanding andsince 2010 they have beaten the Wallabies eight times in 10 attempts. Both sides clearly have an eye on the 2019 World Cup in Japan but classifying this 49th meeting (to date Australia have 25 wins to England’s 22) as a meaningless friendly overlooks the perennial quest for bragging rights which still defines Anglo-Australian sport.

With the Ashes commencing shortly, the Socceroos reaching the World Cup in Russia and Australians voting in favour of same-sex marriage, there is also an increasingly feelgood mood beneath the southern cross. Both Cheika and the Wallabies assistant coach, Stephen Larkham, a good mate of Jones’s from their days working together in Canberra, have felt confident enough to deliver a sly verbal dig or two, with Larkham suggesting his former boss is “spoilt” in his new role given English rugby’s vast financial resources.

He did not have to wait long for Jones’s return of serve: “When we get out there it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got a union with £450m in the bank or Aus$1m in the bank. It’s all even. I love Stevie and I want him to do well as a coach. I just don’t want him to do well on Saturday.”

It all adds up to a fascinating match. Without the faithful Mike Brown at full-back, the average age of England’s backline is now only 25 and, as the demoted George Kruis has found out, rugby’s fortunes can turn swiftly. In last year’s equivalent fixture, England won 37-21 but trailed at half-time and, in Jones’s words, “were terrible in the first-half”. This time they will be expected to start faster and, above all, generate the quicker ball their rapid backline are desperate to have.

The late reshuffle in which the uncapped Brumbie lock Blake Enever replaces the injured Adam Coleman is a major blow for Australia and Owen Farrell’s boot may also prove crucial.

“We bowled a lot of flat off-spinners against Argentina … now we need a couple of wickets,” Jones said. To continue the analogy, England also need to play a few more shots.