England's Autumn International campaign causes both the mouth to salivate in excitement and the nerves jangle with worry, as the Southern Hemisphere big three all come to Twickenham.
The challenge beings on Saturday against South Africa (kick off 1500 GMT), the side that defeated Eddie Jones' team 2-1 in the summer Test series.
Reigning back-to-back world champions and, yet again, Rugby Championship winners, New Zealand then head to rugby HQ, followed by 2015 World Cup surprise package Japan.
The Red Rose conclude their ferocious autumn series with Australia, the nation that humiliated England at their own World Cup three years ago.
It means that without doubt we will know by the end of November just how close, or not, England are to being real contenders to win next year's World Cup in Japan.
Having lost six games already this year, there are key issues Jones and his players must address in these four gruelling Tests to ensure we are all talking about more positives than negatives in a month's time.
Countdown to #ENGvRSA ⚡#CarryThemHome 🌹 pic.twitter.com/8QWnaiWcc6
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) October 30, 2018
England v South Africa - Saturday 3 November - Sky Bet Odds
- England Win - 4/6
- Draw - 20/1
- South Africa win - 11/10
Discipline - Can England shake off the naughty boys tag?
England conceded 58 penalties in their five matches during the Six Nations at the start of the year.
It did not get any better in the summer Test series in South Africa. Jones' boys committing 12 infringements in the opening Test as they threw away a 24-3 lead to lose; and 13 in the second Test to let slip a 12-0 advantage.
It improved in their victorious third Test, only conceding six, but that was against a much-changed, and therefore much more disjointed and ill-disciplined Springbok outfit.
Any rugby player will tell you penalties kill any team, no matter how good. England need more composure and maturity, plus stronger performances from their back row in order to ensure a more equal footing at the breakdown.
The Breakdown - Can England finally get dominance?
A big part of England's horrible penalty count and alarming drop in form has been down to losing that breakdown battle.
This has been down to a number of factors, which means it has not been a simple fix for the management team.
The wrong back-row selections; the absence of a true number seven, poor tactics; complacency; lack of personal discipline, and a seeming lack of energy and, dare I say, desire, have all contributed at points to England losing this key area.
Not only does this deny England ball and field position, it drains their momentum and boosts the opponents', and as a result they get desperate, become disorganised and allow silly penalties.
There will be real focus on the likes of the mobile second row Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, and potential debutant off the bench Zach Mercer to step up, to get around the park quicker and start beating their opponents to the tackle area.
However the back row selected against South Africa is inexperienced and lacks consistent speed and mobility to ensure constant breakdown dominance.
Fly half - Who is England's best 10?
Well we know it is not Danny Cipriani - well in Eddie Jones' view anyway, and as the head coach his opinion remains the most important and decisive. So it comes down to his old favourites George Ford and co-captain Owen Farrell.
Ford is more creative and can produce magic moments from nowhere, while Farrell is Mr Consistent and much tougher.
Jones had continually favoured Leicester Tigers' Ford over the last three years, with his long-term friend Farrell playing next to him at inside centre. Let's not forget that it is a trusted, quality combination that has guided England to two Six Nations Championships under the Australian.
But this partnership has been under pressure after a year of disappointing performances by England's own high standards, especially from Ford.
Ford's club form at the start of this season has been much more impressive than last, scoring and setting up some quality tries, which is more remarkable while playing in a struggling side. However that has not saved him, with Farrell selected at 10 for Saturday's opener.
The former Bath player's overall 2018 form for club and country has been patchy at best, as he showed signs of fatigue. He struggles with a lack of platform when his forwards are losing their fight, something Farrell is better at coping with, and this many have been in Jones' mind when coming up a fear Springbok pack.
That fact and the need for more power in the centres has finally made Jones fire the bullet he's had in the chamber for a while.
England will look physically stronger at 10 and 12, but the magic dust will be missing.
England autumn internationals fixtures
- November 3 - South Africa
- November 10 - New Zealand
- November 17 - Japan
- November 24 - Australia
Manu Tuilagi - Is he ready?
Manu Tuilagi - the human wrecking ball, who has sadly spent more time over the last two years in the mechanics repair yard than out destroying buildings.
Injury upon injury have meant no England appearances since 2016, and just 19 in the previous two seasons for his club Leicester.
The Tiger remains the most exciting, powerful, devastating and game-changing centre England have, even with his faults.
This means there is always a clamour for his immediate return to England's starting XV, no matter his health or form. Seven appearances this campaign and an explosive display against the Scarlets in the Champions Cup suggest he is coming back to his best, but is it too early?
This is the difficult decision for Jones. England lack those powerful, devastating runners, which are so vital to making ground against a brutal South Africa.
But Tuilagi is still gaining full match fitness, and his body has not experienced the painful demands of Test rugby for two years. If England are to win the World Cup next year they will need Tuilagi, so neither he nor England can afford for him to breakdown again by being forced back in too soon.
Equally, Jones is desperate for a win and needs his impact players, so needs to get the centre back up to speed at Test level ASAP.
Starting him on the bench this weekend is the most sensible idea and also a good tactical one - having Tuilagi stalking the touchline, desperate to get on, will both motivate the Twickenham crowd and play on the minds of the tiring South African players.
Injuries - Just how good is England's strength in depth?
While Tuilagi and fellow centre Ben T'eo, along with co-captain Dylan Hartley, have returned from injury, they are outweighed by the absentees.
Both Mako and Billy Vunipola have been ruled out for the autumn, joining Joe Launchbury, Sam Simmonds and Chris Robshaw on the sidelines.
Back row Nathan Hughes is suspended and prop Joe Marler has retired.
It means eight uncapped players were selected in Jones' Portugal training squad, and while some of these have been left out of the 25-man squad to take on South Africa, make no mistake, over the course of November these players are in the frame, rather than just being used as human tackle bags in training.
With Marler retiring, the vital front row also lacks experience in depth and that front three will be tested to the limit against South Africa and New Zealand in particular.
To highlight this lack of experience consider this, hooker Dylan Hartley's 93 caps is more than the other seven forwards selected to start on Saturday combined. The back row of Brad Shields, Mark Wilson and Tom Curry have just 10 caps between them. Gulp.
It will be a steep learning curve for these newer players, who will not be given any slack by their opponents, Jones or the media if they do not produce the necessary standards.
They may have time on their side to improve in the future, but England and Jones, both under pressure from a poor 2018 to date, do not.
Attack v defence - Which will make or break England?
It's Test week 🙌
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) October 29, 2018
First up: the @Springboks 🇿🇦#MondayMotivation #CarryThemHome 🌹 pic.twitter.com/lZ7y4OSRAJ
England have certainly been entertaining to watch, with plenty of tries and points delivered in their 2018 fixture list.
In Johannesburg and Bloemfontein England displayed some stunning rugby - racing in to big leads in the opening 20 minutes of both the First and Second Test. It was genuinely some of the best rugby and eye catching tries England have produced for some time.
In those three Tests, they scored 76 points and eight tries, certainly no mean feat in South Africa. But in return their defensive record is almost identical, leaking 75 points and again eight tries.
The Red Rose lost 63-45 to the Barbarians in May and, heading back further in the year, their points difference was just +10 in the Six Nations, with 102 for, and 92 against.
It means Jones' England currently resemble Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United side of the 90's and their adage -"if you score three, we will score four". That's delightfully entertaining, but remember Keegan's Newcastle never won anything, despite, like England, having vast resources and an excellent squad.
Jones is clever and he has reacted to this problem by turning to John Mitchell as their new defence coach. The RFU paid South African province Blue Bulls £200,000 in compensation to get the New Zealander, which proves how much England are desperate to sort their tackling woes.
Mitchell coached England's forwards in the 1990's and if he can have as much success in improving their defence now as he did with those forwards back then, then that compensation fee will be money well spent.
Summary
Reflecting on the above, I'm wary of sounding negative, but the truth is England are not far away from not just rediscovering their best form, but stepping up to new levels of performance under Eddie Jones - a vital progression if they are to win the World Cup.
They will be targeting at least three wins from four here. Victories over Japan and Australia will be expected, while the South African contest could go either way.
England have exciting, skilful players, can score points in a blink of an eye, and can get down and dirty and scrap out tight wins too.
Cut out the penalties and strengthen the defence to help earn the big wins needed to regain full confidence and the Autumn Internationals could prove the springboard for an exciting and successful 2019.
