Who can find the best kicking game?

The upshot of that breakdown battle will be the ability to control one’s kicking game. South Africa will probably look to kick earlier in their phase play than England might, but they will certainly want to do so on the front foot.

It is an easy and common assumption to make in thinking that a kicking game is done mostly off the back front and when under pressure.

But effective kicking is done off the front foot and with a well-organised kick-chase. And that then determines how much time you spend in your opponent’s half.

This ties in with another of Jones’s selection dilemmas. Who does he pick at inside centre? Does he continue with the George Ford and Owen Farrell combination, who can both kick so effectively, or does he look to go down another route and bring in someone more physical at inside centre, like Worcester’s Ben Te’o? There is also the option of looking at Exeter’s Henry Slade.

However, I think he will stick with Ford and Farrell. Have the others done enough to warrant coming in? I do not think so. In Australia in the summer, Ford, Farrell and Jonathan Joseph did more than enough to be granted further chances together as a trio.

The one caveat I would make, though, is that South Africa will look to play down the 10/12 channel a lot more than Australia did, and will be far more physical about it.