Farrell: We are ready to rise to next level

Owen Farrell, the England captain, says his team are in no danger of getting carried away after becoming the first side in the championship to beat Ireland at home since 2013.

Farrell lives by the mantra espoused by Eddie Jones, the head coach, that “complacency is always there in the shadows” and it is “human nature” to be lured into its trap.

Farrell is adamant England have not been patting themselves on the back after their stellar display in Dublin, with the fly-half indicating that even though the team aspire “to be the best in the world”, they are nowhere near that level yet. That ambition, however, drives them and has helped to set the standards for their preparation this week against a France side with their backs to the wall.

“We want to see where we can take things,” said Farrell. “We don’t just want to be good at stuff. Everyone is good at stuff. There will be a lot of things in our game that we want to take to another level. What we do know is that our feet are firmly on the ground. It was never going to be a case of thinking too much of ourselves.”

Jones pricked Irish sensibilities when noting last week that “praise can make a team weak”.

The England head coach insists that his side will not be distracted by outside acclaim or even commendations from his own management team.

“My role is becoming less and less significant and that shows growth,” said Jones. “That is the way it should be, with the players becoming more and more responsible and accountable for the team’s performance. I expect the team to take another step up. Training has been better even than in Portugal.”

Farrell agreed that the squad had benefited from more player input. “Players want to feel that it [preparation] is theirs,” he said. “If you just sit there being told all week, you can agree as much as you want, but if you don’t own it yourself, it’s not as exciting at the weekend. Our players like owning it.”