England players don't need extra incentives to beat the Wallabies.
Anglo-Australian sporting rivalry surpasses the need to go to the well to get extra fired up.
And yet, after England's 21-17 victory at the SCG which saw England claim the Test match and the series, two players claimed that "smack talk" helped spur them to victory.
"We've had a great four weeks here," skipper Courtney Lawes said in his post-match interview with Channel 9.
"They gave us a good bit of fuel in the press, to be fair.
That sentiment was echoed by Ellis Genge, who had another typically rambunctious outing at prop, breaking two tackles and making 12 post-contact metres in the match.
"We went 1-0 down in that first game and we thought 'backs against the wall' and typically the English, we're better when we're the underdogs," he told Stan Sport.
"It was a bit hard for us to get up again when we did that one-all.
It might sound crazy to think that players playing in an international series decider need extra motivation, but the players must be aware of it and some must see it like a red rag to a bull.
Just look at how Genge responded in Brisbane to the reintroduction of Taniela Tupou to the Wallaby scrum.
The Tongan Thor had his impact in the loose, but Genge had the upper hand in the scrum and did enough in the loose to galvanise his side.
In Sydney, Genge and England fought again, withstanding a tremendous barrage from the Wallabies.
While the Wallabies were talking up the off-the-ball niggle and saying they wanted to "shut the Pommies up", England went about ensuring they had the last word, hauling their battered bodies through one last ordeal after 12 months of near-continuous rugby before taking a well-earned break.
England coach Eddie Jones denied that the midweek comments had been discussed by management, which likely means the phrases were printed out, laminated and plastered in every common area that the players occupied this week.
"We don't talk about those things, mate," he told Stan Sport.
So, it wasn't mentioned at all?
"Maybe with the senior players we spoke a little bit about it," he acknowledged.
"We're a young team and we just want to look after ourselves."
That they did.
The previous two Tests in this series had been relatively even, with England edging the possession (53 and 54 per cent respectively) and territory (56 and 57 per cent) stats.
In Sydney, it was the Wallabies who dominated to the tune of 59 per cent possession and 62 per cent territory.
England made 155 tackles to the Wallabies' 67, but crucially won eight turnovers, none of which were more important than Luke Cowan-Dickie's late intervention to end an 18-phase hammering of the England defensive line.
The Wallabies' ability to score points with almost every forward entry kept the scoreboard ticking in Perth and Brisbane.
In Sydney, that ability let them down, with three blown chances for points in the opening 20 minutes, before Owen Farrell opened the scoring with his trusty right boot.
Both coaches had said discipline would play a role and England proved that with their defensive nous when their backs were against the wall.
"You know Australia is going to keep the ball for long phases, and every phase they keep it, if you defend well, it's an opportunity to turn them over," Jones said.
"We were lucky enough to turn them over and get the result."
As well as England's defensive robustness and discipline, their tactical nous was more on-point than the Wallabies.
Jones called out his "on-field coach" Farrell for particular praise as well as his fly-half understudy, Marcus Smith.
The pairing had come under fire in some sections of the English press as not able to gel and that criticism was fair in the first Test in Perth.
On that occasion, Farrell occasionally popped up at first receiver and, as a result, Smith looked isolated and uncertain of his position.
Restored to an orthodox number 10 — in as far as that word can be used when talking about the Harlequins playmaker — in Brisbane and Sydney, Smith thrived.
The 23-year-old danced up to the gain line, playing delayed flat passes to break the Wallabies defence with crash balls from his big forwards or kicking in behind.
He showed electric pace to capitalise on his opposite number's fumble in the second half to score a wonderful, resistance-breaking try
"The young fella is really developing well," Jones said.
"For a young 10 that's only played 12 Tests I thought, as the Tour went on, his tactical acumen really improved."
All the Wallabies interviewed after the game said one thing: "This hurts."
And, in the cruellest of terms, perhaps it should.
The Wallabies ran for over 500 metres in the contest, beat 30 defenders but coughed up 13 turnovers — five of those of their own making rather than being earned by the English.
This is an England team too that had lost four of its last five matches heading into this tour, a strong team yes but far from the world-beaters that toured these shores in 2016.
That hurt now has to propel the Wallabies into another decent Rugby Championship showing, where they'll face an All Blacks side with a point to prove after their humbling at the hands of Ireland, as well as the world champion Springboks and Argentina.
After that, it's the World Cup in France.
The Wallabies can be one of the five or six sides that are set to challenge for the Webb Ellis trophy next year, this series has proved that.
But they're not at the top table yet.
