Poised Poms up for 'formidable' Boks

England coach Stuart Lancaster admitted his team will have to raise the bar considerably in the second Test against South Africa.

Lancaster, speaking ahead of the encounter with the Springboks in Johannesburg on Saturday, suggested they will take "momentum" from their 54-26 midweek win over a SA Barbarians selection in Kimberley.

However, the size of the challenge in Saturday's Test is considerably larger.

"Ellis Park on Saturday is a truly formidable challenge, but it is one we are excited about," the England coach told a media scrum.

"We felt we pushed the Springboks close [in Durban last] Saturday and we have got to raise that by another 10 or 15 percent at least."

England need a victory in Johannesburg to stand a chance of winning the three-Test series and Lancaster was heartened by a largely second-string side's win over a Southern Barbarians team.

Lancaster regarded the trip to Kimberley as the "perfect game" for the touring squad.

"Not just for the guys that have played, but the guys that have watched, to understand the size of the challenge [in Johannesburg]."

The England coach said his team's misinterpretation of the breakdowns, under referee Jonathan Kaplan, was one problem.

The English struggled at the breakdowns, with controversial flank James Haskell receiving a yellow card for repeated infringements by Kaplan.

"We left ourselves short and, as a consequence, spaces opened up and they [Barbarians] scored four tries," Lancaster said.

"We pride ourselves on our defence and we're not happy about that. It is something we will have to rectify.

"We are delighted to get the win though, scoring eight tries in the process, but credit to the Barbarians side."

Lancaster felt his team took several positives from the midweek clash, but cited discipline as an aspect that needed attention.

"They absolutely made us work for everything and we learned one or two lessons along the way ourselves," he said.

"There are definitely some areas to work on going into Saturday and also next Tuesday."

SAPA-AP