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Eddie Jones is now targeting a series victory after opening Test win
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This follows their 39-28 win over Australia in the first game in Brisbane on Saturday
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The Aussie had plenty praise for man of the match James Haskell
England coach Eddie Jones has set his sight on a historic series victory after his team’s victory over Australia in the first game in Brisbane on Saturday.
“All we have done is given ourselves one more game in the series. Melbourne is the most important game now,” he said.
“We have made history today but it’s not good enough for us – it’s all about next week.
“We didn’t play well. We’re obviously happy with the result but we can improve significantly.
“We can’t get too excited, but the great thing about it is that if you have a three-Test series and you’re in it in the second Test, you’re pretty excited.
“There’s a lot of expectation about the Wallaby team. They’re the second-best team in the world and they’ve got the world’s best coach (Michael Cheika) and the expectation is high for them, so the pressure is on them next week.
“We need to make sure we have good focus. The Australians will come at us left right and centre.”
Jones also heaped praise on the openside flanker James Haskell, who set the tone for England with his bone-jarring early hit on David Pocock.
“James was outstanding, really outstanding. He was physically good. Pocock is a special player but Haskell did some things defensively that gave us momentum in the game,” Jones said.
Meanwhile, Australia coach Michael Cheika admitted his team were outplayed by England and is hopeful of turning things around in Melbourne.
“There’s another Test match next weekend. This was our first game for seven months and we knew there would be things we wouldn’t get right,” Cheika said.
“We’ve now got a better handle on what we need to do to get better.