• Billy Vunipola praises coach after England retain grand slam on track
• Eddie Jones’ spat with media spoils feelgood factor after Ireland winIn many ways England are back where it all started. Looming on Saturday week is a enormous game against Wales at Twickenham,a fixture laden with faint apprehension and wealthy possibility. Not only would victory retain Eddie Jones’s team on track for a first grand slam since 2003 but also partly atone for the red-shirted ram-raid inflicted on them at the Rugby World Cup last autumn.
The main contrast – and it is a significant one – is England are less prone to self-doubt than six months ago. As yet this is not a vintage Six Nations – whether the 2016 tournament were a bottle of wine it would have long since been rejected in favour of something less acidic – but it is a distinct change from the vinegar the frontrunners were drinking in October. Three wins out of three, with only one try conceded, and suggests a greater sense of clarity and purpose is slowly emerging.
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Source: theguardian.com