Andy Farrell believes Ireland have "a long way to go" before reaching the peak of their powers despite winning the Grand Slam.
Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions on Saturday after beating England 29-16 at the Aviva Stadium.
Farrell's side are top of the rankings following 10 consecutive victories and will be expected to mount a strong challenge to win the Rugby World Cup for the first time in France later this year.
Yet the Ireland head coach is demanding more from his players after they celebrated a fourth Grand Slam triumph.
"I said to you in New Zealand, 'now this was the start of our World Cup year'," Farrell said.
"The most pleasing thing is that we've continued to be successful. To find a way. Everyone was nervous about that except us.
"This is part of the journey, isn't it? Obviously this stands on its own right, as does the New Zealand tour.
"But it's part of the journey of us as a group going forward into a World Cup. Like I said, we'll get two or three months pre-season training for the first time together and I expect ourselves to be better obviously because of that.
“We've carried on winning, is that the yardstick? I don't know.
"We just go on the performances and the performances were pretty good in New Zealand and we've continued to again find a way.
"It's never been perfect, but the game is not like that, so the mental strength of our game and large parts of our game are in a good place.
"There's a long way for us to go for us to be at our best which is a great sign."
England team bus delayed after Just Stop Oil protests
England’s Test summer failed to get off to the best start after the team bus was delayed on its way to Lord’s by Just Stop Oil protesters.
Jonny Bairstow posted a photo on his Instagram story on Thursday morning, which showed Just Stop Oil protesters and police officers in front of their team coach in the middle of a road in Kensington by England’s hotel.
Bairstow’s caption read: “If we’re a bit late, it’s not our fault.”
However, there was no delay to proceedings on the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland with the four-day contest getting under way at 11am as planned – despite the five-minute delay to the team’s journey.
Just Stop Oil protesters were able to disrupt the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Sale last weekend.
Two men wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts invaded the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint powder onto the field before being removed by security staff.
A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championship in April.
Robert Milkins’ match against Joe Perry was interrupted when a man wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt jumped on to table one and tipped orange powder over the cloth.
Amid the threat of potential protests this week at Lord’s, the MCC said it has enhanced its security measures in some areas for this match.
“We look forward to welcoming players and spectators to the first international Test match of the summer at Lord’s. Their safety and security is the highest priority for MCC,” an MCC spokesperson told the PA news agency.
“We have a number of ground regulations that help us achieve that; including not entering the playing area or demonstrating.
“Whilst protests would disrupt the game, we have a number of security measures in place, some visible, some less so to deter this. In some areas we have enhanced those existing provisions ahead of this summer’s schedule.”
England’s bus journey to Lord’s halted by Just Stop Oil protesters
England’s Test summer failed to get off to the best start after the team bus was held up on its way to Lord’s by Just Stop Oil protesters.
Jonny Bairstow posted a photo on his Instagram story on Thursday morning, which showed Just Stop Oil protesters and police officers in front of their team coach in the middle of the road.
Bairstow’s caption read: “If we’re a bit late it’s not our fault.” Day one of the one-off Test between England and Ireland is set to start at 11am.
Just Stop Oil protesters were also able to disrupt the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Sale last weekend.
Two men wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts invaded the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint power onto the field before being removed by security staff.
A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championships in April.
Robert Milkins’ match against Joe Perry was interrupted when a man wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt jumped on to table one and tipped orange powder over the cloth.
England begin their red-ball campaign with a four-day Test against Ireland at Lord’s before the Ashes gets under way on June 16.
London Irish given one-week extension to try and secure their financial future
London Irish have been given a one-week extension in their battle for survival with the Rugby Football Union setting a final deadline of June 6 to prove they have a future.
Irish will be suspended from the Gallagher Premiership unless a takeover has been completed or they can demonstrate they have the funding needed to operate for the entirety of the 2023-24 season.
The May payroll for all staff and players must also be paid in full after it was confirmed that only 50 per cent has been received so far.
The RFU said it had granted the extension until 4pm next Tuesday at the request of Irish employees.
“It’s deeply frustrating for all the staff, players and fans that there have been months of multiple missed deadlines,” RFU Club Financial Viability Working Group chair Paula Carter said.
“We are extremely disappointed that the club has so far only funded 50 per cent of the staff and player wages. However, we have to respect the wishes of those most affected.
“The 4pm deadline on June 6 is final and we have added the stipulation that the club must also fulfil its contractual obligations to its employees by paying the May salaries in full.”
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