Ben Earl urges England to block out South Africa's world-champion reputation at Ellis Park

Ben Earl has urged England to block out South Africa’s formidable reputation and concentrate on their own performance when the two sides meet at Ellis Park on Saturday in the Nations Championship.

England arrive in Johannesburg looking to arrest a run of four consecutive Test defeats — a sequence that produced their worst-ever Six Nations campaign. Their opponents are ranked number one in the world and have won the last two Rugby World Cups.

“We want to play a game of rugby that not only entertains, but wins,” said the Saracens number eight. “Test match rugby is almost a different sport. The currency of Test match rugby is wins.”

Earl acknowledged the scale of the challenge posed by Siya Kolisi’s squad but warned that dwelling on individual reputations could prove counterproductive. “South Africa are unique because they’re number one in the world, they’re the best team, they’re double World Cup winners,” he said. “They’re littered with world-leading talent. From one to 23, you could argue that a fair chunk of them would be in the conversation around the world’s best.”

“But the moment you think too much about that stuff, you get bogged down and you can’t focus on your own game, so we’ve been thinking a lot about ourselves.”

A determined display against France in the final round of the Six Nations has given England a reference point for the approach they want to take into the Nations Championship fixtures. Earl said the squad feels equipped to adapt to whatever South Africa present tactically.

“I feel like we’re well equipped to play whatever the game presents itself. We don’t know what tactics South Africa are going to bring, but we know the kind of game we would like to play,” he added. “These opportunities don’t come around very often so I for one can’t wait to play and to challenge ourselves against the best team in the world.”

Head coach Steve Borthwick is set to name his team on Thursday. Jamie George will captain England after Maro Itoje was rested for the July tour.