England head coach Eddie Jones has warned his players that they cannot afford to go toe to toe with South Africa and must instead "play smart" to overcome their psychically superior opponents.
The Red Rose lock horns with the Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon aiming to maintain their winning start to Jones's tenure, having successfully put memories of last year's disappointing poor Rugby World Cup showing behind them.
England face one of their toughest tests yet this weekend, though, as they have not tasted victory in this fixture since 2006 - a barren spell spanning 12 Tests - but Jones is hoping to take inspiration from one of sport's most famous triumphs.
"Against a physically aggressive side, you've got to play smart," he told reporters. "We won't be shying away from the physical side of the game, but when Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman, if he went toe to toe with him he was going to lose, so he had to find other ways of getting around him.
"We don't want to go toe to toe with South Africa because that's what they want to do. You never go into a game of rugby knowing what the opposition want to do, and then do it. We need to be physical in every game, but the tactical part against South Africa is different.
"Because of the overtness of their physicality they give you opportunities and we'll take those opportunities. Rugby is always physical. It's not a different challenge. The challenge for us is to be tactically smart."
England are on a 10-match winning run, stretching back to November 10, 2015 when beating Uruguay in their final group match of the World Cup on home soil.
Daniel Lewis
