Ireland win just the start, vows Jones

EDDIE JONES has issued a stark warning to France and the rest of Europe after his England team’s demolition of Ireland last Saturday: ‘This is just the start.’ The England boss recalled Chris Ashton in place of Jack Nowell yesterday, as predicted by Sportsmail. He also added Northampton hitman Courtney Lawes to his starting XV at lock, to fill the void created by Maro Itoje’s injury. Despite England’s dominance of the Irish title-holders on the way to an epic 32-20 victory – their finest hour under this regime – the Australian delivered a statement of intent about the potential of his side to improve. He said emphatically: ‘We’ll be better this week, I’ve got no doubt. Last week was just the start. There’s no reason for us not to be focused. ‘We’ve worked extremely hard this week. We’re in a good physical state. We’ll be better than we were the previous week.’ Jones is on a permanent state of alert about the spectre of complacency. Prior to the championship opener, he claimed ‘praise can make you weak’, referring to Ireland. This week, amid plaudits for his team, he has been on the look-out for what he calls ‘shadows in the corners’. He will not tolerate a drop in intensity in a match the hosts are favourites to win. ‘It’s always there,’ said Jones. ‘It’s with us all the time. It’s human nature, so we’re always fighting complacency. Sometimes the shadows get a bit bigger and sometimes they’re smaller, but they’re always there.’