VIDEO: England's 'tough period' gets worse
REACTION AND SQUAD UPDATE: Eddie Jones promised his team will overcome the ‘bloody tough period’ after their 12-23 defeat to South Africa in Bloemfontein.
Jones’ side took an early 12-0 lead, courtesy of tries by Mike Brown and Jonny May.
However, similar to last week, England were unable to build on their blistering start and conceded 23 unanswered points.
The defeat means that not only has the Springboks taken an unassailable two-nil lead in the series, but also handed England their fifth-successive Test defeat of the year.
“No-one wants to lose five Tests,” Jones told reporters in Bloemfontein.
“We have been through an exceptional period, and now we going through this tough period.
“For some reason, we’re just not handling those key moments of the game,” he added.
Just a year ago England were labelled as one of the 2019 World Cup contenders however, a fifth-place Six Nations finish followed by two Test defeats to an inexperienced Springbok side has stripped Jones’ side of their formidable status.
Nonetheless, Jones believes England have the ability to conquer their internal battle and has promised that the side will bounce back when they face South Africa in the Third Test at Newlands, Cape Town.
“This team has got a lot of pride, we’ve won back-to-back Six Nations, equalled the record for wins, we’ve gone to Australia we won 3-nil,” he said.
“Now we’re going through this bloody tough period.
“And everyone will fight hard to get out of this, you’ll see an absolutely spirited effort in Cape Town.
“It’s sticking together… understanding what you can improve, what’s important in handling the emotions of the situation – and if we do that we can get out of this period,”
England’s discipline played a huge factor during the test Series. The side conceded 13 penalties, a yellow card, as well as a penalty try in Bloemfontein but it seems like its an area Jones is not sure how to address.
“We dont really know [how to combat the high penalty count],”
“I think it’s because the players are trying too hard, they’re trying to solve problems themselves and not trusting their team and the system” he explained.
In terms of the squad, England will be without Mako and Billy Vunipola for the final Test.
The prop Mako, who has been in the starting XV for the two test, will travel back to London for family reasons which were agreed ahead of the tour.
While his brother No.8 Billy will return to London after it was confirmed he re-fractured his arm during Saturday’s match against South Africa.
Billy Vunipola was replaced by Nathan Hughes towards the end of the first half as England lost the second Test to South Africa.
The Saracens forward will be assessed further next week.
Prop Ellis Genge also left South Africa after he sustained a knee injury during the week.
Exeter Chiefs’ Alec Hepburn has been called up as a replacement.
The 25-year-old Hepburn, who has two previous caps, both from this year’s Six Nations, will meet up with the squad in Durban ahead of the travels to Cape Town.
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