England captain Dylan Hartley insists it won’t feel like they are champions unless they claim the Grand Slam in Dublin.
He explained to BBC 5 Live: “It feels a bit weird when you said we have retained the RBS 6 Nations because it doesn’t feel like it until we win next weekend.
“We see it as another step for the team to get better so we will put all of our focus into that game.
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“We’re just focusing on the game and the Grand Slam.
“Our preparation has been second to none, we leave no stone unturned. That week off was not a week off!
“It was a hard graft, the coaches pushed us hard but it’s all in preparation for this game. We put the work in and we’ll enjoy the success.
“We were ruthless. We were clinical”
Dylan Hartley “proud” of #sixnations triumph and matching New Zealand’s 18-match winning run#ENGVSCO pic.twitter.com/r95vtPP06k
— BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) March 11, 2017
“We’re proud of the performance and asked the team to step up, take the next step as a team and I think we did that. We were ruthless and clinical and we executed some brilliant set-piece moves.
“We set our own standards and every week we want to prepare well and every week we want to start the game well but no game of rugby is perfect. But when it all goes your way it’s pretty special and that’s what we saw.
“But there are still things to review in the game. If we want to kick on as a team, the next challenge is Dublin next weekend.”