Head caoch Eddie Jones insists best is yet come from England in Six Nations 

Eddie Jones claimed on Monday that England’s best is yet to come and his team are in the ‘perfect position’ to down a resurgent Ireland in Saturday’s Six Nations clash.

Jones once again emphasised his happiness at England’s direction of travel, 18 months out from the next World Cup.

But the England head coach knows that his side must win their remaining two clashes with Ireland and Grand Slam-chasing France to keep alive hopes of what would be a shock title win.

Head coach Eddie Jones says England are in the ‘perfect position’ to down a resurgent Ireland

That will be a tough ask considering the form of Ireland and favourites France, who look streets ahead of their rivals. Lose to Ireland and also in Paris and Jones’s grand plan will come under further scrutiny.

But he insisted: ‘We’re a young but very, very good team and our best is yet to come. We’ve got a little over 12 months until we get together for the last part of the project.

‘How are we tracking now? In a really positive manner. It’s not a perfect straight line. Sometimes we’re going a bit quicker than others and sometimes we’d like to go a bit quicker, but we’ve got a great spirit in the side. We’re building and we’re in a very good position. Three teams can still win the tournament and we’re delighted to be one. We’re looking forward to the challenge of Ireland and we’re not intimidated by any team.’

England scored just one try each in the Six Nations matches against Scotland and Wales

For all Jones’ bravado, the reality is Ireland will arrive at Twickenham ahead on the development curve and simmering nicely, even if they were beaten by France in Paris in round two.

Where England are looking for continuity of selection, Andy Farrell’s Ireland side, barring perhaps one or two positions, virtually picks itself. The Leinster core of their team is world class and they have lock Iain Henderson back after Covid.

England’s attack has stuttered so far, scoring just one try each against Scotland and Wales, through Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt. Meanwhile, Ireland head coach Farrell has undoubtedly evolved his side’s game. They have managed 16 tries in three matches and while that statistic takes in the hammering of an Italy side who played for an hour with 13 men, it is clear that they are freed from the straitjacket imposed by Farrell’s predecessor Joe Schmidt.

Ireland have evolved under coach Andy Farrell and ran in 13 tries in their three matches

England have won four of their previous five meetings with Ireland but their one defeat in that time came at the Aviva Stadium last year.

Jones admitted that the 32-18 Dublin humbling was a crucial moment for his side. ‘I think it indicated we’d run our race with that group of players,’ he said. ‘We came off a good win against France and had a chance to finish off that tournament well. We didn’t do that and that was disappointing. It made it clear we had an urgent need to move the team on. We’ve done that.’

That Dublin defeat represented a brutal end for Vunipola brothers Mako and Billy. Asked if his team would be capable of re-establishing their past dominance of Ireland, Jones added: ‘There is no reason why we can’t. We’re in a perfect position, aren’t we?’ Jones will again have to cope without his injured centre Manu Tuilagi against Ireland and must decide on a midfield combination which can get his team firing.

Iain Henderson is back in the Ireland squad for the upcoming game against England 

His problems have also been added to by Luke Cowan-Dickie’s knee injury and Dombrandt testing positive for Covid-19.

They were dealt another Covid blow on Monday night when squad member Louis Lynagh tested positive. ‘All the other England players and staff have returned negative results,’ read a statement.

England hope Dombrandt will be back training by Thursday, but if he is not, he will likely be replaced by Sam Simmonds. Tom Curry, recovering well from concussion, could also be an option while Sam Underhill is available.

Whoever plays, England must prove their worth and provide evidence to show their head coach’s comments are not just a load of hot air. A defining two weeks for Jones awaits.