“We haven’t beaten them since then and you know what they are like, they’re bullies, so that is a task for our first 23-man squad,” said Jones, who knows South African rugby from close quarters, having been technical adviser during their 2007 World Cup-winning campaign in France. “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.”

Jones intends to work even harder on his players’ conditioning. He started his regime in January by stating that there was a need for a 20 per cent uplift in fitness levels if England were to go toe-to-toe with the southern hemisphere. The 3-0 series whitewash of Australia indicates that the programme is on track, but he still not satisfied.