Care revels in England glory surge

Danny Care insists Eddie Jones’ double RBS 6 Nations champions are the greatest side he has played in.

England head to Dublin tomorrow (5pm) in search of the victory that will deliver back-to-back Grand Slams and a new world record 19th consecutive Test win, eclipsing the mark set by New Zealand last year.

Care, who will win his 71st cap as a replacement, believes the squad is blessed with a number of worldclass players.

“As a team it is definitely the best team I have ever been a part of,” the Harlequins scrum-half said.

“You look around the changing room and there are a lot of world-class players in a lot of positions.

“Everything seems to be clicking and going in the right direction. It’s not just our attack or our defence, it’s everything.

“The set-piece, the boys up front are doing an unbelievable job, giving us some fantastic ball.

“George Ford and Owen Farrell as a combination seems to be working brilliantly. And you look at Maro Itoje – he’s still only 22 but plays like he’s a 100cap veteran, knowing the game inside out.

“But we won’t get ahead of ourselves and the aim is to be number one in the world and we still have a lot of work to get there.

“Winning that next game will be a huge achievement for us first. Eddie has talked about success and failure and how quickly it can turn to failure. We’re not thinking about records and all our focus is about winning a Grand Slam.”

England are favourites to topple the Irish, but Jones insists the 2014 and 2015 champions will be able to play without the burden of expectation.

“Ireland don’t have to worry about failing. It’s a winner-takes-all for them and that makes them even more dangerous. They are going to come out all guns blazing,” he said. “They were favourites for the competition and now they are out of it, so we are anticipating a tough encounter.”

England have made two changes, with Billy Vunipola displacing Nathan Hughes at No 8 and Anthony Watson preferred ahead of Jack Nowell on the wing.