England’s players insist they are not driven by chasing records as they approach the “business end” of a gripping Six Nations Championship this season. One more victory would equal New Zealand’s all‑time record for successive wins by a tier-one nation but Courtney Lawes says the team are focused purely on the threat offered by Scotland on Saturday.
Lawes, who has started all three of England’s Six Nations wins this season – against France, Wales and Italy – believes that matching the All Blacks’ sequence of 18 successive victories between 2015 and 2016 is a potential distraction from the primary job of preventing Scotland from triumphing at Twickenham for the first time since 1983. “Records come and go but I want to be part of a successful team.That’s the most important thing for me,” Lawes said.
“We’ve got this far by not worrying about it and I don’t think we’re going to get any further by making it a big deal. I haven’t really thought about it and I’m not going to think about it. The focus is on Scotland; whether we equal or break the record honestly doesn’t matter as long as we all do our part for the team.”
There is also a growing sense within England’s dressing room that opponents are now more motivated than ever when they see a white jersey with a red rose on it. “We’ve got a massive target on our backs,” said Lawes, who is in line to win his 57th cap. Teams are stepping up as they really want to beat us. Everyone’s saying we have not played well but people are upping their games against us and really turning up.
“France came hard and we had to rally, Wales too and Italy came with their strategy. The next two teams we play are both in contention for the title and they’re both massive challenges. It is the business end of the championship but we’ve always known that was going to be the case.”
Lawes is particularly wary of Scotland’s improving squad, despite their woeful recent record at Twickenham. “They’re as big a test as probably anyone we’ve played so far,” the lock forward, now sometimes back-row, said.
“They’re coming to Twickenham full of confidence. They have a big, physical pack and they’ve got a good, pretty clinical backline. We know what we’re up against. Even though we’re the only unbeaten team, anybody could still win the Six Nations.”
The lineout duel between Scotland’s Gray brothers and the England trio of Lawes, Joe Launchbury and Maro Itoje will be among the game’s more intriguing areas, with the hosts not intending to make life cosy for their frequently unsuccessful visitors.
“Scotland not winning at Twickenham for so long is something they will have to deal with, not us,” said Lawes, unfazed by Jonny Gray’s growing reputation as an outstandingly consistent defender. “I don’t envy many people’s tackling, to be honest. He [Gray] does what he does, he’s a good player with a great work-rate and you’ve got to applaud that but I don’t think too hard about how many tackles he’s making.”
Lawes also says he is happy to keep packing down in the back row to allow Itoje to take a key scrummaging role behind the England tighthead Dan Cole. “Maro’s stronger than me, there’s no getting around it. It’s not that I’m not a big strong boy but he’s a freak. One of the things he’s better at than me is scrummaging so why not put him in the second row? As long as it doesn’t cost me a place in the team I’m happy to do that. I don’t feel like I’ve lost my spot. I prefer to play six anyway.”
