Autumn internationals could prove dangerous for Eddie Jones, who needs to conjure up major improvements after last season’s disappointments
![The Breakdown | England in danger of being stripped bare by South Africa and Australia](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f841fe7efb8fcc9f04ad179b7587c2866f4df8b2/0_73_2198_1319/master/2198.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=b933123a79b1d84217d021a401d1bc0b)
For those scheduled to face
South Africa on the world champions’ northern hemisphere tour this autumn, the weekend was an ominous one. In producing easily their best performance since winning the 2019 Rugby
World Cup the Springboks went back to the future in compelling
fashion, narrowly edging out
New Zealand in a tumultuous finale in the 101st meeting between the two proud rivals.
If it made for uncomfortable viewing for Wales,
Scotland and
England, who are all due to host the Boks next month, it was compounded by the subsequent
Social Media footage of Rassie Erasmus dancing around in his boxer shorts at home in celebration. Very little Erasmus posts online happens accidentally and here was a timely nudge that South Africa’s camera-loving director of rugby is not huddled in a darkened room fretting about World Rugby’s still-pending inquiry into his well-publicised Lions tour antics.