[ad_1]
Owen Farrell said he hoped his team would have lifted the nation’s spirits by claiming the Six Nations title, before immediately focusing on claiming the Fall Nations Cup crown in the coming weeks.
England plunged into a second national block shortly after Eddie Jones’s team clinched an extra points victory in Italy and France’s subsequent 35-27 victory over Ireland secured a third title in five years. England had worked against Italy before finally clinching a 34-5 victory with Ben Youngs scoring two attempts in his 100th appearance before Jamie George, Tom Curry and Henry Slade crossed paths.
However, the failure of England to completely defeat Italy had left the door open for Ireland, who would have claimed the title with a victory of six points or more. France could have sealed an unlikely title as well, but it would have required a 31-point victory, and the failures of both teams to achieve what they needed ensured that England sealed the trophy, increasing Rugby Football Union’s coffers by around £ 5. millions.
England were due to fly home on Sunday morning and will be presented with the trophy in a presentation at their training base in southwest London around lunchtime. Jones’ players will have the rest of the week off before meeting to prepare for the Fall Nations Cup opener against Georgia on November 14.
“We know how tough things are for everyone at home right now and we’ve been saying throughout our training camps how we want to do our bit to make people smile,” Farrell said. “Hopefully we did and will do more of the same in the fall.
“It is a great achievement for us as a group to win the Six Nations in the year and the strangest circumstances. We really believe that we can continue to improve and achieve more for England. We are turning our attention now to the Fall Nations Cup, we want consistent success and we are working hard to be better in each and every game. “
Denied a chance to warm up for Saturday’s Six Nations final because last weekend’s game against the Barbarians was canceled under ridiculous circumstances, Jones admitted that England were decidedly rusty in Rome. Ultimately, the margin of victory of 29 was only two less than in England’s two previous visits to Rome, but it was not what the supporters of the procession had expected. He left England anxiously watching the events unfolding in Paris at his hotel where Farrell, the captain, confirmed that his team had “had a few quiet drinks” in honor of Youngs, George, who won his 50th international game, and the four new rookies, Jonny Hill, Ollie Lawrence, Ollie Thorley and Tom Dunn.
“I’m very proud of all the players and the staff,” Jones said. “They have reacted superbly to changing situations in the last two weeks and stayed focused on the goal of winning the Six Nations. We will rest for a couple of days, then we will get back together and put everything we have into our preparation for the Fall Nations Cup. It is another really important tournament for us and I look forward to the same levels of application as we work to perform at our best.
“We certainly tried to play with a lot of passion and intention. I hope the home fans enjoyed the game and feel a little better about themselves because we are going to go through another difficult period, right? If we are allowed to continue to play international rugby, which we hope, we have to make sure we do everything we can to help society.
“We would also like to thank all of our fans. It is strange not having fans in the stadium and we know it is a difficult time for the country, but we felt their support throughout the campaign and that makes a difference. Hopefully we can continue to provide more good times for our fans in the weeks to come. “
