Eddie Jones is not only seeking revenge against Ireland. He wants to make a statement against Joe Schmidt’s side.
England closed out their 2018 schedule with an impressive victory over Australia on Saturday but the calendar year was a disappointing one for fans, players and the head coach as England won just six of their 13 games.
Ireland, meanwhile, have had a quite remarkable year, the curtain of which closed with a 57-14 victory over the USA.
Any concerns about complacency following last week’s historic overturning of the All Blacks were put to rest as Schmidt’s men ran in their year-high points total against the visiting Americans.
Ireland are no longer fighting to be the best team in Europe. They are neck-and-neck with New Zealand for the honour of being recognised as the most dangerous side in world rugby.
Ireland will be favourites going into next February’s Six Nations meeting with England and will be hoping to win three consecutive games against their fiercest rivals for the first time in seven years.
And Jones, who is known to stoke the flames ahead of big games, is already hyping up the Aviva clash.
“We owe them one,” Jones said of Ireland in the wake of Saturday’s win.
“I’m not worried about winning the Six Nations, I’m worried about Ireland.
“We just need to keep getting better. We play them first up so it’s the most important game we’ve got coming forward.
“They’re the top team in Europe now. We want to be the top team in Europe. It’s pretty simple.”
