Pressure on England is a privilege – Wigglesworth

Autumn Nations Series: England v South Africa

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 16 November Kick-off: 17:40 GMT

Coverage: Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds, follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

Senior coach Richard Wigglesworth says the pressure for England to get results is all part of the privilege of representing the national side.

England have lost their past four games, including narrow defeats by New Zealand and Australia in their first two Autumn Nations Series matches.

They face reigning double world champions South Africa at Allianz Stadium on Saturday and Wigglesworth says it is the coaches’ job to “step back” from the outside noise.

“This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big,” he told BBC Sport.

“Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.

“We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.

“It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they can’t get affected by that as well.

“We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so.”

England last met South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semi-final, with the Springboks coming back from 15-6 down to edge a fierce contest 16-15.

Wigglesworth says the Boks are a different side compared to that day and have “evolved a little bit” in terms of their gameplan.

However, he says the visitors will still rely on their traditional areas of strength, not least a forward-heavy bench which will be unleashed in the second half.

“They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things,” he added.

“I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it, it is our job to meet that and rise to it.”

But Wigglesworth says the England coaches are not in contact with former defence coach Felix Jones.

Jones, who was part of the South Africa set-up for the past two World Cups, quit the England set-up in August, but is serving his notice period by providing remote analysis, according to the RFU.

“I believe he is working with us behind the scenes, but we have not been in touch with him personally,” Wigglesworth said.