NATIONS2017 England’s title down
going away to an unbelievably hostile stadium, especially when the English turn up on a very patriotic day, so we are going to have to prepare for everything. We will meet the challenge.
“You obviously get a sense of confidence from winning games and there is a lot of confidence in this team.”
England, who will be presented with the Six Nations trophy in Dublin after the match, can set a new tier-one world record of 19 successive Test wins having equalled New Zealand’s mark with the Scotland win – and lift the Triple Crown – if they see off Ireland.
Joe Schmidt’s team have an injury doubt over star scrum-half Conor Murray, who damaged his left arm in Friday’s defeat by Wales.
However, England have been warned by Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw that although his team can no longer win the championship, derailing England is all the spur they require. “There’s no better way to try to go out and end England’s winning streak. It’s a great motivation for us,” said Henshaw. While Jones, above, has his own injury concerns over wing Elliot Daly, who suffered double vision following a tackle from Fraser Brown that earned the Scotland hooker an early yellow HE CAN KICK IT: Owen Farrell slotted 26 points in the win over Scotland card, they have developed enviable depth during their incredible winning run, which has brought their ultimate goal of becoming the world’s No1 side into sharp focus.
“We’ve come a long way. I think Eddie and his coaching staff have pushed us massively towards a goal that everyone laughed off at the end of the World Cup but now it’s a realistic goal,” said Vunipola.
“If you win 19 games on the trot you are pushing it. We know we’re not No1 yet but we want to do things within our power to show we are serious about this goal.” UNABLE to practise his kicking because of the dead leg which threatened his involvement against Scotland, Owen Farrell turned to visualisation techniques, imagining what lay ahead. It turned out daydreams equated to reality for England, trapping Scotland in a living nightmare at Twickenham.
Farrell’s 26 points would have beaten the shellshocked Scots single-handedly but the seven tries England scored to equal the Calcutta Cup record ensured the Six Nations title was retained in sumptuous fashion.
The balance of territory and possession was pretty much equal but what the two sides did with the ball was poles apart. This was English rugby how Eddie Jones imagined it could be when he took over as head coach 15 months ago in all its REPORTS