England veteran Chris Robshaw believes the side’s NatWest 6 Nations issues have been put to bed ahead of the summer tour to South Africa that kicks off this weekend.
The flanker started all five games in the Championship earlier this year, when England’s campaign saw them finish fifth.
But with his sights firmly set on victory in the Rainbow Nation, Robshaw claimed the team have left their NatWest 6 Nations woes in the past.
“It is all about this series,” he said, “we know we’ve had to address some things from the Six Nations which we’ve hopefully fixed, but for us to come down here it is about winning the series – that’s what our mind set is.
“The South Africans are getting a bit of form back and playing well, they might be coming off the back of a couple of losses but they have some great players in there, as well as a new coach.
“We’re unsure of what they’re going to bring, I’m sure they’ll have some tricks up their sleeve, and we have to be ready for that.”
Robshaw, who turned 37 this week, has plenty of experience of the environment that he and his teammates will encounter on Saturday, having lost at Ellis Park in the second of a three-test series back in 2012.
However, he feels England will be fired up from the off this time around to give themselves the best chance of a successful tour and finally burying the painful memories of the NatWest 6 Nations.
He added: “We weren’t as ready as we hoped we were [in 2012], we allowed them to get momentum and we were playing catch up the whole game.
“This time around we have to meet that head on in the first minute.
“Bar Twickenham, Ellis Park is the best rugby stadium I have ever played at due to the intensity it brings, the atmosphere and the passion levels.
“We are looking forward to it, we are under no illusions about how hard it is going to be, and we have spoken about how hard it is to go there and be successful.
“This is going to be an exciting but challenging tour, and we have to make sure we’re on it.”
