Retaining the Cook Cup is all fine and dandy but what England would really love this week is to settle some old scores. Bitter memories of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, with a further dash of frustration still lingering from last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour, are already lending their final fixture of 2021 an extra edge and South Africa’s visit to Twickenham feels like a genuine grudge match. Satisfying as it is to beat his native Australia for the eighth time in a row, Eddie Jones is keenly aware a stiffer challenge now looms. The Springboks’ characteristically effective 30-15 win over Scotland was another reminder of how tough it remains to knock over the world champions, which is perhaps why Jones reached for a favourite boxing analogy on Saturday night in the wake of England’s similar 32-15 margin of victory. Specifically he has in mind the famous Rumble in the Jungle in 1974 when Muhammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope” tactics of leaning on the ropes, covering up and encouraging George Foreman to punch himself out paid legendary dividends in Kinshasha. “If you are taking on a heavyweight contest and you are fighting against George Foreman who can whack and whack and whack, you have to do something a bit different,” said Jones. “We have got four days to come up with something a little bit different. And we will.” Given the stunning success Jones enjoyed with Japan against the Boks in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, he has more expertise in this specific syllabus than most. A quick dive into the archives reveals he also made Rumble in the Jungle comparisons in 2016 prior to his first game against South Africa as England’s head coach. The hosts ended up winning 37-21 and Jones has always possessed a long memory. The fact remains, though, that England’s 2019 finale in Yokohama against the same opponents could hardly have gone any worse, with Jones’s men effectively flat out on the canvas long before the end. Ten of those red rose starters are still on parade but in some ways Japan feels a lifetime ago. It certainly must do for the Vunipola brothers and George Ford who, along with the injured Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly, are currently on the outside looking in. South Africa, for their part, will be missing the injured Faf de Klerk, Cheslin Kolbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit and the retired Tendai Mtawarira but all their other key pillars and tactical beliefs remain firmly in place. “I worked with the Springboks for a year so I have a pretty reasonable understanding of what they try to do,” stressed Jones, a consultant to the World Cup-winning Jake White in 2007. “South Africa have a very clear game plan, based on the accuracy of their kicking, their kick chase, the physicality of their forwards and a very strong scrum. The first thing we need to do is be really consistent in our scrummaging so we don’t allow them access into our half. We have to try to take away their maul and then be really good at neutralising their kicks. If we’re able to do that we can create opportunities to attack against them. Like any team, they have weaknesses in their defence and we’ll be able to find a few of those.” Easier to say than do on the biggest occasions, clearly, and Jones has had plenty of time to poke through the ashes of the 2019 debacle, just a week after England had put New Zealand away with the same authority that Ireland showed in Dublin on Saturday. This time, though, he has the ex-Springbok scrum coach Matt Proudfoot on his staff and no one will be getting too far ahead of themselves. “Every time you play against South Africa and get beaten there’s a lesson there,” said Jones. “They play to their strengths. They play the way they have traditionally been educated to do since a young age. Just like the All Blacks play a catch-pass game, movement game. The great thing about rugby is they can play any of those contrasting styles and be successful. It just depends what players you have and the sort of game you want to play. I only have admiration for what they do.” Given England have yet to concede a try in two games since the arrival of their new defence coach Anthony Seibold, their own foundations are reasonably firm but, with Joe Marler due out of Covid isolation on Thursday, it will be no surprise if the loosehead prop is rushed back into the squad. The 21-year-old debutant Bevan Rodd performed stoutly but the Springboks’ illustrious “Bomb Squad” will be a step up from a Wallaby tight five lacking some key stalwarts. Jamie George’s sore knee is another complication but might Owen Farrell’s ankle injury potentially allow Jones to simplify his selection elsewhere and maximise the rising talent he clearly has at his disposal? If ever there was a moment for the bustling Alex Dombrandt to start at No 8 and and to pit himself against Duane Vermuelen it is surely this Saturday, with the Harlequin’s instinctive understanding with Marcus Smith an obvious plus. Re-establishing the midfield combo of Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade would also make Smith’s life easier, as would the return of the multi-skilled Max Malins on one of the wings. With Freddie Steward looking to the manner born at full-back, England will ideally be hoping to fashion more of the smartly-worked moves that saw Smith send Steward away for his first Test try and again hinted at encouraging progress under the attack coach, Martin Gleeson. Stay brave and positive and there will be a better chance of those nagging demons being buried. “It is the final game of the autumn so we want to go away with a good feeling,” said Jones, unable to resist another more risqué analogy. “It’s like when you go out on a date with a girlfriend, the night finishes well and you can’t wait for the next date. We want to make sure the players have that feeling.” Roll on next Saturday.