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London - Eddie Jones has likened the praise his England side
have received from New Zealand coach Steve Hansen to the cautionary fairytale
of Little Red Riding Hood being tricked by the wolf.
Hansen congratulated the Six Nations champions after they
had equalled the All Blacks' record of 18 successive Test wins with a 61-21
Calcutta Cup demolition of Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday.
The All Blacks boss, who guided New Zealand to 2015 World Cup glory in England, told the BBC on Sunday: "It's great for rugby because we want competition and games that people want to watch and get excited by.
"Eddie has come in and installed a want and a desire
that probably hasn't been there before," added Hansen, who said England
were now producing rugby worthy of their talent.
Jones's men will surpass New Zealand's record for most
consecutive Test wins by a 'tier one' or leading rugby union if they beat
Ireland in Dublin on Saturday - a match where victory would also see them
complete back-to-back Grand Slams.
England haven't played New Zealand during their unbeaten run
and are not due to face them again until 2018 at the earliest.
Jones has made it clear he wants England to dethrone the All
Blacks by winning the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
In the meantime, the Australian coach is determined any
compliments from the New Zealand camp will not turn his head or that of anyone
else in his England squad.
"It's a bit like Red Riding Hood and the wolf when the
wolf comes dressed up as the grandmother," Jones said at England's Bagshot
training base, southwest of London, on Monday.
"You always have to be careful when All Black coaches compliment you, you always have to be careful."
England produced their best rugby of the Six Nations against
Scotland, scoring seven tries with centre Jonathan Joseph crowning some impressively
slick moves with a hat-trick as Scotland's defence was shredded time after
time.
But Jones said England had needed a "cleansing
meeting" when they spent a few days training in Oxford to help them
rediscover top form after they failed to hit the heights earlier in the
tournament.
"We had a bit of a cleansing meeting when we were in
camp in Oxford," Jones said. "Not that we felt we weren't doing what
we needed to do, but we just felt we needed to reset our minds a little bit.
"It was about accepting that we've been
successful," the former Australia and Japan coach added. "To me the
English are quite reserved and they actually struggle quite a bit with success.
"I know the perception from the Celts is that it's the opposite - they think the English are arrogant.
"As an Australian I think the English are very polite
and reserved. And they struggle to actually carry that success around.
"What we said, and we had a great discussion, is that
we have to acknowledge we've been successful and it's how much we want to be
great now."
Jones is now excited by what's at stake for England at
Lansdowne Road on Saturday.
"How many opportunities in your life do you get to beat
Ireland in Ireland to win back-to-back Grand Slams? It's almost a childhood
dream as a rugby player," Jones said.
"The players realise they have a once in a lifetime
opportunity here. History shows that winning back-to-back Grand Slams happens
once every 27 years.
"None of these players is going to be playing in 27 years so this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
