England have already established an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, but are determined to complete a whitewash of the Wallabies when they bring down the curtain on their June tour.
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Jones has guided them to nine successive wins, including the Grand Slam at the Six Nations, since replacing Stuart Lancaster in November after they failed to get past the group phase of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
“I said after game one in Brisbane that we had to park the egos”, captain Hartley said.
“People write nice things”. Friends, family – your extended network all want to say how good you are and say well done on the series.
“It’s just inflating your ego and it can blind you”.
Victory would also continue a remarkable run for Maro Itoje, who has not lost a game that he has started this season for club or country in a sequence that dates back to Saracens’ 24-20 defeat by Exeter last May. Anyone who is vanilla is never really that successful.
“When you’ve had a couple of wins praise can make you weak. But they’ve got good coaching staff, they’ll be well prepared for the game, [and] we’re expecting a titanic struggle”, Jones said. If you become weak once you can become weak twice and to be a champion team you can’t be like that. “The players are professional players, they’re not kids, they know what they can and can’t eat”. “We’ve picked the best 23. the others have just got to work harder on the areas in which they’re not good enough”.
“Their attitude has been first-class”.
Teimana Harrison will make his first start for England in the third and final Test of the Australia series in Sydney on Saturday.
Jones is backing “streetfighter” Harrison to fill the boots of a player who has been reborn under the Australian’s guidance. It is a tough environment. If you don’t come up to the standard you’re going to feel left out.
“It comes down to the mental strength and desire of the player to want to be part of the England side”. Harrison earns his second cap.
“You want someone to go to you and say “the buck stops with you”.
“There are no free caps in the England side”, Jones said. “They’ve trained hard, there’s no reason why they can’t have that”.
“Harrison is a bit more of a ball-carrier than Haskell”.
Once it became apparent his established starters still had more to give, Jones decided there was more value in sticking with them.
Australia: I Folau; D Haylett-Petty, T Kuridrani, M Toomua, R Horne; B Foley, N Phipps; J Slipper, S Moore (capt), S Kepu, W Skelton, R Simmons, S Fardy, M Hooper, S McMahon.
Reps: (one to be omitted): T Polota-Nau (Waratahs), S Sio (Brumbies), G Holmes (Reds), A Coleman (Force), W Palu (Waratahs), N Frisby (Reds), C Leali’ifano (Brumbies), T Naiyaravoro (Waratahs).
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George Ford keeps his place at fly-half with owen Farrell at 12, while Jack Nowell remains on the wing.
