Dallaglio: England must beat Boks

Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio says that a win over the Springboks should be the priority in November.

Under Stuart Lancaster's tutelage, England have beaten all-comers, with Heyneke Meyer's Boks the notable exception. Their last meeting at Twickenham ended in a narrow 16-15 defeat, while they haven't tasted victory against the Boks since 2006, a run spanning 11 matches.

With the World Cup less than a year away, Dallaglio says England need to turn Twickenham into a fortress, starting with a win over the Boks on 15 November.

'What England's priority has to be is winning as many, if not all, their games at home because, come the World Cup, if they win every game at Twickenham they win the tournament,' Dallaglio told The Mirror. 'Going into a World Cup you want to know in the back of your head that you can beat every side. And South Africa is the only side England haven't beaten under Stuart.

'In fact the last time they played them at Twickenham they got properly beaten up. So this is a fascinating fixture.'

England will start the November Tests with a match against the world champions before facing the Springboks a week later. They close out the year with a match against old rivals Australia.

'If England can come away with two out of three southern hemisphere victories, that would show me that they are genuine World Cup contenders,' said Dallaglio.

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