Former England captain Chris Robshaw has urged his fellow teammates that they must finish the job and secure the Grand Slam in order to go down in the history books.
The newly crowned RBS Six Nations champions will this weekend face France in Paris in what is to be the final round of this year’s tournament and are one victory away from securing the full sweep for the first time since 2003.
After defeating rivals Wales on Saturday 25-21 at Twickenham the only team that were left in the way between Eddie Jones’ side and the championship title was France, however, after succumbing to Scotland in Murrayfield 29-18 the trophy was awarded to England for the first time since 2011.
Yet despite being crowned champions flanker Robshaw wants his side to go for the jugular and make history (ESPN):
It feels pretty surreal at the moment in terms of getting the reward without playing the final game. We had a beer together and now it is all gung-ho to finish the job properly.
We have been in this situation before where we have been in a strong position to win the Grand Slam, but in the history of English rugby only 12 teams have ever achieved that feat.
We talked about how these opportunities don’t come around very often. I have been involved for four years. A lot of the guys have been trying to win a championship and no one has been part of a Grand Slam win.
Now it’s about making sure we are ready for the challenge in Paris and I’m sure the intensity in training will rise this week because we have to be ready for what is coming.
We want to be part of that history and we know how tough it is going to be playing France in Paris.
Since relinquishing the duties of captain to hooker Dylan Hartley following the introduction of new head coach Jones, Robshaw has enjoyed an upturn in form and has played an enterprising role in the back row as the Harlequins star looks to rediscover his best form following a disappointing 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign:
It was a tough six months to deal with following the World Cup, but now I’m enjoying my rugby and it is always nice to hear things like that from the coach.
It is also great for my partner, my family, friends, team-mates, coaches here and at Harlequins — they are all hugely important and helped me get back to being out there and enjoying it again.
Am I playing with a smile on my face now? We haven’t finished the job yet and if we achieve what we want on Saturday there will be some big smiles.
