Rewind the clock a little less than four years and there was Eddie Jones arguing that a defeat by the Barbarians should not be included in England’s losing streak because it was not a Test match. Excluding it, the run of defeats still reached five after two subsequent losses against South Africa before the Springboks were beaten, thanks in no small part to Danny Cipriani’s left boot, in a sodden Cape Town.
On the back of another difficult Six Nations and back-to-back defeats by Ireland and France, Jones has made clear that “it’s not England this week. It’s England XV against the Barbarians.”
