England need a win desperately, and now, and it will be South Africa who stand in their way from avoiding a fifth straight international defeat when the two rugby giants lock horns at Twickenham on Saturday.
Stuart Lancaster's men are coming off a frustrating defeat to New Zealand last weekend, when they looked capable of stopping the All Blacks only for it to go pear-shaped in the second half with the home team eventually succumbing to a 24-21 loss.
Seizing the initiative and keeping it for the entire duration of the 80 minutes will be vital if they are to beat the Springboks on Saturday.
England coach Stuart Lancaster has asked his team to put in an extra 10 percent out on the field against South Africa, or their presence in the team for the upcoming World Cup next year could be in jeopardy.
"Collectively I want to see 10 percent improvement in everyone because that's the difference between winning and losing at this level," said Lancaster according to the Guardian. "When you are competing against teams ranked above you that's where you really understand every mistake does matter.
"That's why this series is so important in the build-up to the World Cup. Irrespective of what happens, I will know by the end of this series who can and who can't."
England haven't beaten South Africa since 2006, but scrum-half Danny Care, who will win his 50th cap for England, believes that much-needed victory against South Africa could come on Saturday.
"It will come at a time when the learning needs to stop and we need to get results," he said. "I think that we have shown in patches just how good we are but we need to turn that into 80-minute performances.
"Like Stuart said we need an extra 10 percent from everyone, maybe 20 percent. In the second half against New Zealand, execution-wise, a couple of kicks weren't my best. As half-backs our job is to lead the team around the field and manage things. I made a couple of mistakes there and, ultimately, that cost us a bit."
South Africa themselves are coming off a big defeat to Ireland last weekend and will want to bounce back as well, but England insist that their need for a victory to snap that four-game losing streak remains the motivation for Saturday.
"Of course there's going to be a backlash after the fourth defeat," forwards coach Graham Rowntree said according to the Daily Mail. "That is being said in our camp.
"The guys are beating themselves up about it; we're beating ourselves up about it. That was at the start of the week. But you get out on the training field, start sorting things out and move forward."
Confirmed lineups: England: Mike Brown, Anthony Watson, Brad Barritt, Kyle Eastmond, Jonny May, Owen Farrell, Danny Care; Billy Vunipola, Chris Robshaw (capt), Tom Wood, Courtney Lawes, Dave Attwood, David Wilson, Dylan Hartley, Joe Marler.
Reserves: Rob Webber, Matt Mullan, Kieran Brookes, George Kruis, Ben Morgan, Ben Youngs, George Ford, Marland Yarde.
South Africa: Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen, Jan Serfontein, Jean de Villiers (capt), Bryan Habana, Pat Lambie, Cobus Reinach; Tendai Mtawarira, Adrian Strauss, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield, Marcell Coetzee, Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen.
Reserves: Bismarck du Plessis, Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen, Bakkies Botha, Teboho Mohoje, Francois Hougaard, Handre Pollard, Cornal Hendricks.
Where to Watch Live
The rugby international is scheduled for a 2.30 pm GMT (8 pm IST, 4.30 pm SA time) start with no live coverage in India. Viewers in the UK can catch all the action live on Sky Sports 1 or via live streaming online on Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports. UK audience can also listen to the match live on BBC Radio 5 Live or stream it on the website.
South Africa viewers can watch the game on SuperSport or live stream the action on SuperSport online. Australia viewers can catch the game on Fox Sports 2 or online via their live video option. Audience in New Zealand can catch the game on the Rugby Channel.
