Former captain Chris Robshaw has urged already-crowned Six Nations champions England to “finish the job properly” by completing a Grand Slam against France in Paris on Saturday.
Victory over Wales at Twickenham last weekend, allied to Scotland’s defeat of France, gave England the title in their first season under Australian coach Eddie Jones after four successive runners-up finishes when Robshaw was skipper and former coach Stuart Lancaster in charge of the side.
But, welcome though that was, for Robshaw the true goal will have been achieved if England complete a first Six Nations clean sweep since their World Cup-winning year of 2003 -- when Jones was coach of losing finalists Australia.
“It feels pretty surreal at the moment in terms of getting the reward without playing the final game. We had a beer together and now it is all gung-ho to finish the job properly,” Robshaw said yesterday.
“We have been in this situation before where we have been in a strong position to win the Grand Slam, but in the history of English rugby only 12 teams have ever achieved that feat,” the Harlequins back-row added.
“We talked about how these opportunities don’t come around very often. I have been involved for four years. A lot of the guys have been trying to win a championship and no one has been part of a Grand Slam win.
“Now it’s about making sure we are ready for the challenge in Paris and I’m sure the intensity in training will rise this week because we have to be ready for what is coming. “We want to be part of that history and we know how tough it is going to be playing France in Paris.”
Robshaw may have been stripped of the England captaincy by Jones following the hosts first-round exit at last year’s World Cup that cost Lancaster his job. But although Jones installed hooker Dylan Hartley as England captain, he kept faith with Robshaw—albeit switching hin to what he considered his more ‘natural’ position of blindside flanker from the openside.
The 29-year-old has started all four of England’s Six Nations matches so far this season, with Jones labelling Robshaw a “colossus” for his performances during the Championship.
“It was a tough six months to deal with following the World Cup, but now I’m enjoying my rugby and it is always nice to hear things like that from the coach,” Robshaw said.
“It is also great for my partner, my family, friends, team-mates, coaches here and at Harlequins—they are all hugely important and helped me get back to being out there and enjoying it again,” the 47-times capped flanker added.
“Am I playing with a smile on my face now? We haven’t finished the job yet and if we achieve what we want on Saturday there will be some big smiles.”
Jones wants England to play ‘Bodyline’ rugby against Australia
Not content with telling his England players to emulate the country’s Ashes cricket heroes, Eddie Jones has urged them to play “Bodyline” rugby against his native Australia later this year.
The former Wallabies boss has already marked his first season in charge of England with the Six Nations title.
England were crowned kings of Europe with a round to spare last weekend when they beat Wales and Scotland saw off France.
Now England have a chance to complete a first Grand Slam since their World Cup-winning year of 2003 -- when Jones was coach of beaten finalists Australia—against France in Paris on Saturday.
But Jones already has an eye on June’s three test tour of Australia—who knocked hosts England out of the World Cup with a dominant 33-13 pool phase win at Twickenham in October en route to losing the final against New Zealand.
Last week, cricket fan Jones said: “You go back to the great Ashes cricket series. When have England won Test matches? When they’ve had two fast bowlers—or at least one—who wants to rip every Aussie batsman’s head off. To me, that is English sport.”
It was a theme he returned to on Monday by summoning the memory of ‘Bodyline’, the name associated with the 1932/33 England tour of Australia.
Back then visiting captain Douglas Jardine used fast bowlers such as Harold Larwood to rough up Australia’s batsmen, notably cricket great Don Bradman, in a tactical approach, which although brutally effective in that it saw England regain the Ashes, was later widely regarded as intimidatory and unsporting.
“We’ve got one game to go (against France) and then we’ll worry about picking the squad for Australia,” Jones said.
Chris Robshaw
