After 10 fruitless test years against South Africa, Dylan Hartley is desperate to help England break a sequence of 12 games without a win against Saturday's visitors to Twickenham.
Not since 2006 have they come out on top against the Springboks – a 23-21 win at HQ – and they remain one of the only sides the England skipper has yet to taste victory over.
"It hurts," the captain told EnglandRugby.com. "In my experience – and for other guys like Mike Brown, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell and Dan Cole – we have never beaten them and, of course, we have past disappointments there. That's a big motivator for us.”
While the Springboks arrive on a less than stellar run of form having won just two of their six Rugby Championship outings, history suggests a titanic tussle at Twickenham.
"South Africa always take pride in their game which possesses such a big physical presence,” Hartley added. “And just like four years ago, we are under no illusions just what kind of challenge they pose for us.
"We've got some new faces in the squad this time but we don't need to chat about what is expected from people. Everyone has high expectations and standards and that filters down from the coaches through to all the players.”
