London: Stuart Lancaster insists his England side “must improve again” if they are to continue their fine assault on the Six Nations title and beat the Irish in their own backyard in a fortnight.
The England head coach is hopeful full-back Mike Brown will recover from his head injury and be available for that Dublin contest which will go a long way in deciding this season’s champions following England’s win over Italy and Ireland beating France.
Lancaster had mixed emotions after a six-try romp on Valentine’s Day helped them follow up the win in Cardiff, making it two out of two in the Championship.
Bath centre Jonathan Joseph grabbed two tries and impressed with a Man of the Match display which brought about comparisons to former England and Lions star Jeremy Guscott.
But Lancaster knows too well that the intensity of performance must be cranked up a few notches to succeed again at the Aviva Stadium. He said: “Ireland will be a totally different matter. That’s going to be a difficult game but we’ve started the tournament well and we go there with belief, confidence and momentum.
“The guys know full well what to expect against Ireland. It will be full on from the start, just as it was in Cardiff. They know they must improve again and put in an 80 minute performance there.
“We expected a tough time against Italy. We knew they were a dangerous side from two years ago when they came to Twickenham and pushed us close.
“There were some outstanding performances and fine team tries but the guys know they can play better.
“There will not be any place for mistakes or a lack of concentration or intensity in Dublin, that’s for sure. Ireland are also on the upward curve and looking strong. It should be a fantastic occasion.”
Lancaster praised centre Joseph for his two tries and outstanding performance at Twickenham as England hit back from 5-0 down to win 47-17. The player himself admits he’s flattered by comparisons to Guscott but is not going to let it go to his head.
The 23-year-old said: “It’s nice to be compared to someone like Jeremy Guscott, especially someone of such class and ability who had such a great career with Bath and England. But I know I am not the finished article and can get better.”
England overpowered Italy in the second half after trailing to Sergio Parisse’s try - Italy’s first in Tests for 258 minutes. Billy Vunipola, Joseph twice, Ben Youngs, Danny Cipriani and Nick Easter crossed for England.
Replacement fly-half Cipriani went over with his first touch of the ball on his England return after seven years. Easter, 36, became England’s oldest ever Test try scorer.
The only cloud for England was a head injury to full-back Mike Brown, taken off on a stretcher after just twelve minutes. He recovered to take a seat in the stands, and now Lancaster is hopeful he will be available for Dublin.
“I have not had a chance to speak to the medics so I don’t know if he was concussed. It was obviously a blow to the head so I will have to speak to the doctor.”
Italy head coach Jacques Brunel admitted his side must lift themselves quickly for the challenge of going to Murrayfield. He said: “We must forget about this loss and about England. Now it is time to regroup, rethink and focus only on Scotland. That will be another tough match but we must be confident.”
