Eddie Jones’ men have now finished 2016 unbeaten.
England have beaten Australia 37-21 today at Twickenham.
They are the first England team in the professional era to have gone unbeaten from January to December.
This was their fourth victory over the Wallabies this year, their 13th victory of 2016 and their 14th victory in a row (England beat Uruguay in their final group match of the 2015 world cup).
England 37-21 Australia@EnglandRugby finish 2016 unbeaten. Amazing turnaround since their RWC flop
Who can stop them in 2017? pic.twitter.com/fNOhgUN3VJ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 3, 2016
Don’t get us wrong, England have been incredibly impressive under Jones but we feel that the English fans are getting ahead of themselves a little bit.
The English faithful only had one team in their sights as they began to bask in the glow of an unbeaten 2016.
What a season for #England rugby. Congrats to Eddie Jones and team. A serious, consistent challenger to @AllBlacks has emerged.
— Craig Ray (@craigray11) December 3, 2016
Hold on a second, a serious challenger to the All Blacks? We think we remember a certain team in green recently ending the All Blacks record 18 Test winning streak. Not to mention going toe-to-toe with them two weeks later.
https://twitter.com/RobertsonKyle_/status/805090006066925568
What a second half by England. Unbeaten in 2016, reckon we're ready to take on the All Blacks #EngvAus
— Jon Fielding (@jonfielding10) December 3, 2016
One problem there though – England are not scheduled to play the All Blacks until the summer of 2018.
In fact, England will have to face Ireland twice before they get to play the All Blacks.
We don’t like to blow our own trumpets here at SportsJOE but we definitely think that Ireland should be mentioned in the same breath as New Zealand when it comes to measuring how far this English side has come.
The Sky Sports hype-machine had already been put into overdrive. During the post-match coverage, Clive Woodward, Johnny Wilkinson and Will Greenwood couldn’t hide their excitement and admiration for what was their ‘perfect year’.
With the Six Nations just two months away, we can’t help but be excited about a potential Grand Slam decider against England at the Aviva Stadium.
As if this fixture needed any more spice, England could potentially go into that fixture with 17 wins in a row under their belt.
If they beat Ireland on that day, they will beat New Zealand’s 18 Test winning streak.
But we’re well used to ending other teams’ records now aren’t we?
Bring it on.
