Farrell’s got fear factor
you’ve got different groups and it’s how you unite all those guys to play for one single purpose.”
After losing to Scotland, France and Ireland in the Six Nations and finishing fifth, England are attempting to win a series in South Africa for the first time.
England have only won three of 13 Tests on Springbok soil and Farrell is seeking to emulate John Pullin in 1972, Will Carling in 1994, and Martin Johnson in 2000, who have tasted victory there as Red Rose captains.
Those three leaders forged the team spirit that Jones thinks was missing earlier this season when the squad apparently cracked.
“You can’t win anything without it,” he added at England’s training base in Brighton. “It’s about having greater purpose.
“It has got to be more than just a game. It’s got to be about the pride you have playing for your country; the pride you have playing for England that makes you do that little bit more.
“It’s always an issue. New Zealand used to suffer from a big AucklandCanterbury divide. That was the tradition: Auckland played one way, Canterbury played another way. They had different cultural heritages and that was for a long time a difficult part in New Zealand rugby.
“In South Africa, you had the Afrikaans and you had the coastal English. It was always a difficult part.”
Jones also revealed he has made no plans to replace defence coach Paul Gustard if he leaves the England set-up. Gustard has been linked with a move to Harlequins as director of rugby and would leave Jones in limbo if he jumped ship.
“I don’t have a contingency plan for staff,” he said. “If a situation arises then I’ll deal with it. I appoint the best coaches I can find and we try to win games of rugby.”