England on cusp of making rugby history

– Billy Vunipola (right) accepts England have “come a long way” following their miserable 2015 World Cup campaign but are determined not to rest on their laurels against Ireland.

England head to Dublin having wrapped up the Six Nations title with a round to spare for the second year in a row and knowing they are just 80 minutes away from completing the rare feat of back-to-back Grand Slams.

Victory at Lansdowne Road on Saturday would also see England surpass world champions New

Twickenham

Zealand’s record of 18 successive Test wins by a “tier one” or major rugby union nation.

England could not even win two games in a row at their own World Cup, defeats on consecutive weekends at Twickenham by Wales and Australia condemning them to a first-round exit.

By the time their current winning streak started with a 60-3 hammering of Uruguay in a “dead” pool game, the fate of then coach Stuart Lancaster had been sealed and soon afterwards he was replaced by Eddie Jones.

The transformation has been stark, with England yet to lose a match under him.

Jones’s ultimate ambition with England is to knock the All Blacks of their perch by winning the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

England ran in seven tries as they hammered Scotland 61-21 to win the Calcutta Cup on Saturday.

But the loudest cheer of the day came when fans’ favourite Vunipola replaced Nathan Hughes, the starting No 8, in the second half.

It was Vunipola’s first international appearance of this Six Nations after he suffered a knee ligament injury back in November.

Vunipola did not take long to make his presence felt, powering over for a close-range try just minutes after taking the field.

“I never expected anything like that reception,” said Vunipola. “It’s very humbling to get them cheering me like that,” he added.

No England player enjoyed themselves more as they posted a record score against Scotland than Jonathan Joseph, who ran in a hat-trick.

There was much to admire in the quality of Joseph’s running and the precision of the play that helped create the tries. –