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Jamie George has told England to brace for a “brutal fight” in a rugby “war” with world champions South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.

The match will be the first time the teams have met since South Africa’s 16-15 victory in the 2023 World Cup semi-final in Paris – a stormy encounter made even more bitter by allegations from England’s Tom Curry that he had been racially abused. by Springboks Bongi Mbonambi.

England are currently on a four-match losing streak which includes losses to both New Zealand (22-24) and Australia (37-42) in the first two November internationals.

But beating back-to-back world champions South Africa would go some way to repairing the damage, with England captain George insisting his side will relish the physical challenge posed by the Springboks.

“When you step on the field for England in a Test you know you’re in for a war, you know you’re in for a battle, you know it’s going to be brutal at times,” George said.

“But the kind of team we want to be, the expectations we have, is that we run and we run hard.”

Horaren added: “Our rivalry with South Africa is historic. There will always be an edge when we play them. It’s a physical game, a confrontational game.

“Their style of play is very on you and direct and that’s the kind of game we like, the kind of game we enjoy.”

Some of England’s best performances in recent times have been produced in adversity, with this year’s 23-22 win over Ireland in the Six Nations just two weeks after a lackluster defeat by Scotland.

“Historically, we’ve been a team that reacts very well after a bad performance,” George said. “And that’s what our game against Australia was, to be completely honest.

“It’s important to not just rely on history, but be clear about why we bounce back well and what it is about going into games as underdogs that brings out the best in us.

“We don’t always want to be in that situation, but of course we’ll make the best of it this week… The team can take confidence from the fact that we’ve got clarity around what we did wrong against Australia, but more importantly – why .”

Meanwhile, George said England would try to be as confrontational at Twickenham as they were against the Springboks at last year’s World Cup.

“They seemed shocked by our physicality and our approach to the game so there will be a plan there in terms of our knowledge of how to shake South Africa,” he said.

“But we’re a different team than back then. We’ve evolved, they’ve evolved. They’ve got a different coaching staff, so have we. It’s going to be a really interesting part about who wins the game.”

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