Aussie Customs

Eddie Jones had his bags searched by customs as he arrived in Australia with his England team

The Aussie said he was 'shunted' into the bag search queue but was expecting rough treatment

Asked if he was braced for local dirty tricks from the media and public, Jones added: ‘I’m sure. It will be all-on. I don’t know about voodoo dolls but all those things are going to happen. The media will be up to their tricks. There will be co-ordinated targets. We’ll deal with it how we can. It’s going to be a bit of fun.

‘It shows they’re taking England seriously. I’m sure they’ll try to wind me up. They’ve got a show there and every week there’s an “Eddie Watch”, so it’s already started. They’ve not come up with anything yet. I’m very well behaved so far! Hopefully I’ll keep it that way.

‘I’m an Australian so I love the country but as I said when I took the job, I’m fully committed to England and all I want to do is get England to win and make sure the players keep developing their potential. Hopefully we’re starting to see a little bit of that.’

Jones has huge respect for the work done by his one-time team-mate at Randwick RFC in Sydney, Michael Cheika — who took over a Wallaby squad in disarray and transformed them into World Cup finalists a year later.

England will meet the challenge with ferocity, in keeping with the ‘Bodyline’ approach demanded by the management.

Jones believes it was part of a co-ordinated effort to help Australia in their three matches with England

The England coach signs shirts for fans after arriving in Brisbane on Thursday

Dylan Hartley posed for pictures with fans on touching down in Brisbane

Owen Farrell took the time to sign an autograph as the England players were welcomed to Australia

Chris Robshaw and Dan Cole arrive ahead of the first Test against the Aussies on Saturday week

‘You look at their 39-man squad and it’s very good, physical. Some good skill, some big guys, ’ said Jones. ‘Michael Cheika has turned that side from being a joke 18 months ago, when they were dropping Tests left, right and centre and had more people on the front pages than the back.

He’s turned that around and put together a hard-working, physically confident team.

‘That’s how you win rugby games. We’re not talking about any magic here. You watch New Zealand play and they’re still physically aggressive and what they have is plus-skills.

'We want our physical aggression to be the absolute base of our game and that’s what the great England sides have been previously — the Grand Slam sides of the Nineties, the 2003 World Cup-winning team. Why that has been lost I don’t know, but we’re not going to lose that now.’

Jones said Michael Cheika is the world's best coach and expects a very tough task against Australia

Courtney Lawes leads some of the England players through arrivals at Brisbane Airport

As England settled into their first base just south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast, the head coach conceded that the first Test will be pivotal in deciding the outcome of the series. He knows that his side must hit the ground running.

‘It’s massive, ’ he said. ‘We’ve got to win that Test. That’s what we’re preparing for. The players are thinking about it now.’

Jones will soon turn his focus to who to pick at 10 and 12. Owen Farrell, fresh from his double-winning exploits with Saracens, will be considered for both positions. ‘He was a good player for us during the Six Nations so I anticipate he’s going to be a good player for us in Australia either at 10 or 12, ’ said Jones. ‘He’s always been considered as a 10. We’ll pick the team that suits the situation.’