England plan intact – boss

EDDIE Jones insists his fouryear plan leading into the 2019 World Cup remains intact despite Saturday’s comprehensive defeat by Ireland.

The RBS 6 Nations champions headed to Dublin in search of back-to-back Grand Slams and a record-breaking 19th Test victory only to barely fire a shot as they fell 13-9 to opponents whose performance was worthy of a more emphatic scoreline.

England are attempting to arrange an additional fixture with the All Blacks at Twickenham in November, but New Zealand’s media reacted with scorn to their failure to claim a place in history.

Among the words used to describe the display at the Aviva Stadium are “thuggish”, “brain dead”, “arrogant”, “wrecking balls in chains” and “back to square one”.

But Jones, whose aim is to depose New Zealand at the summit of the game, is adamant England are on course to peak at Japan 2019.

“This result doesn’t change the plan at all. Did you think we would never get defeated?” Jones said.

“It’s a game, it’s a game of rugby. We lost, we’ll move on, we’ll get better, we’ll learn.

“One game doesn’t change our plan. We’ve got a plan in place. I know what we’ve got to do to be at our best for the World Cup. One game doesn’t affect our perception of people, or the team.

“It’s great for us. It’s not great to lose, but it’s a great learning experience. There’s no scar there at all.

“We were ready. Sometimes you’re just not good enough. That’s the reality.”