England’s players are looking to “create history” in Dublin on Saturday despite having already sealed this year’s Six Nations title with a record-equalling 61-21 win over Scotland. The players are not simply determined to be the first English side since 1992 to complete back-to-back grand slams but are also motivated by the chance to overhaul New Zealand’s world record of 18 successive Test victories by a tier-one nation.
With Ireland having lost to Wales on Friday, England cannot be caught at the top of the table and the fly-half, George Ford, has made it clear that the squad are in no mood to ease up against the Irish on Saturday.
“We are hugely excited about the challenge of going over to Dublin and trying to create some history and memories with each other,” he stressed. “We want to go one better and try to get that grand slam. We are hugely motivated to do it.”
The head coach, Eddie Jones, has already challenged his team to “achieve greatness” and the No8, Billy Vunipola, confirmed he and his team-mates also want to make New Zealanders sit up ahead of this summer’s Lions’ tour: “We know we’re not No1 yet but we want to do things within our power to show we are serious about this goal. It is not just about next week, it is about being relentless with everything we do.
“We know the Irish team is going to come at us, whether they lost on Friday or not. It is the day after St Patrick’s Day and it is going to be very emotional so we are going to have to turn up with the right mindset. It is not about them, it is about how far we want to push ourselves.”
The transformation in English fortunes under Jones since the 2015 Rugby World Cup has been remarkable, but the head coach insists his mission is far from complete: “We’re one year into a four-year project, that’s the reality. We’ve done reasonably well in the first year but we have to get better. We want to be the No1 team in the world. We’re not there yet so we have to get better.”
The New Zealand coach, Steve Hansen, has already seen enough from afar to detect a different England team who are closing the gap with the All Blacks.
“Eddie has installed a want and a desire that perhaps has not been there before,” Hansen told the BBC Five Live. “We always thought England had plenty of talent but did not want to work hard but they are doing that under Eddie and actually loving it.
“Funnily enough, the harder you work, the more results you get. That’s the difference: rather than having one or two individuals who are playing well, they have a squad that’s trying to get to another level every time they play. To me that’s a better formula than having one or two superstars.”
Hansen, however, still reckons the All Blacks would beat England if the two teams met now. “Being the All Blacks coach I’d like to think we would. Eddie being the England coach would like to think they would,” he said. “It’s hypothetical. But right now they are the team that’s out there and doing it and congratulations. It’s superb, it’s great.”
Danny Care, who scored two of his side’s seven tries against Scotland on Saturday, believes England can finish the championship off with a bang, despite the hostile venue. “We have gone to some big places and won big games. We have been to Paris away to win the grand slam, Australia away in three Tests,” he said. “Hopefully we can use all of that next week to our advantage.”
The Sale forward, Josh Beaumont, and the Wasps hooker, Tommy Taylor, are among eight additional players included in a 31-man training squad to prepare for the Ireland game.
