Jamie George insisted England are ready to take on the Guinness Six Nations’ big hitters after Wales were dispatched 16-14 at Twickenham.
England fell 14-5 behind but fought back through a Fraser Dingwall try and two George Ford penalties – the second the decisive kick in the 72nd minute – to make it two wins in as many matches.
Only Ireland also remain on course for the Grand Slam but the competition is about to get harder for Steve Borthwick’s men with Scotland next up in Edinburgh before closing with clashes against France and Andy Farrell’s defending champions.
“There is belief. We have got a good opportunity to rest up a bit in the fallow week and then focus on getting better because we know we are going to need to get better going up to Murrayfield,” George said.
“The foundations that we have laid have allowed us to believe in what we are doing and believe in the England way. We want to continue what we are doing and keep growing.”
When asked about facing Scotland, France and Ireland, George said: “I don’t think it is a huge leap.
“Obviously we have got three difficult games coming up but I don’t think we are in a place to say it needs to be a quantum leap to get a load better.
“We are two from two, we have done well and we know we have got a huge amount of growth left in the squad so our focus is on making sure we optimise that.”
England showed resilience to claw their way in front despite conceding the half-time penalty count 6-0 and seeing Ollie Chessum and Ethan Roots sent to the sin bin, the overlapping yellow cards reducing them to 13 players for five minutes.
“This is a team that stays in the fight and a team that finds a way. Were there improvements on Italy last weekend? Yes, I think there were,” head coach Borthwick said.
“The work we’re doing each day is paying dividends. But the biggest lesson here is the trait the players are developing in themselves, which is one that stays in the fight.
“I always sensed from the players there was a confidence to find the way to get the result.
“Prior to the World Cup we identified that England’s second-half performances had deteriorated since 2018. Last weekend and here we’ve seen it consistently improve.”
While England have built a 100 per cent record, Wales have headed in the opposite direction with losses to the Red Rose and Scotland by a combined total of just three points.
Had they shown more composure in the second half, they might have registered a first victory at Twickenham since 2015.
“It’s pretty disappointing really. I’m proud of the performance and the effort of the players out there, but we’re disappointed we didn’t come away with the win,” head coach Warren Gatland said.
“It’s part of the journey we’re on in terms of developing as a team. I said to the players we’re not there yet but we’re going to be a bloody good team going forward.
“And this was part of that process in terms of learning about game management. I’m really proud of the effort.
“We felt really good at half-time and didn’t feel under pressure. On a few occasions we didn’t get the rub of the green in the second half and that’s rugby.”
'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi warned his team the job is far from done despite them rallying for a thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springboks secured a 31-27 win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, coming from behind with two late tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams.
The victory hauled South Africa onto 14 points in the Championship standings as they bid to end New Zealand's four-year stranglehold on the title, but Kolisi says there is still work to be done.
Addressing the capacity crowd in his post-match interview, Kolisi said: "We play for a lot but you people are our number one motivation.
"We appreciate you every single day. Please don't stop. When times are tough, please keep supporting us. We cannot do it without you.
"We respect the All Blacks. No matter what people say about them, when they need to turn up, they turn up. We believed in ourselves, we didn't panic, and we did what we wanted.
"They were catching us on the exit. After the first try in the second half, we picked it up. I'm really proud of the boys but the job is not done."
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, meanwhile, was proud of his team-mates' efforts but admitted they had just fallen short of putting together a complete performance.
"Well done to the Springboks, it showed the class team they are," he said. "We weren't quite good enough. We were good for 62 minutes and it's an 80-minute game.
"There were two key moments after kick-offs where we couldn't quite get out of our half and they punished us. It was a huge effort, we're certainly proud, but it was just not quite to be.
"We'll regroup pretty quickly. Some guys have played here for the first time. It's intense and we'll have to be better next week."
South Africa host New Zealand again in Cape Town next week, while Australia go to Argentina for their round-three matchup.
Record-breaking Root edges England closer to Sri Lanka victory
Joe Root hit a record-breaking century as England edged closer to sealing their series victory over Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Root, who equalled Alastair Cook's record during the first innings of the second Test, made 103 from 111 balls for his 34th Test ton.
England resumed on 25-1 at the start of day three, with Root leading the way for the hosts and the crowd rose as one when a sweeping four completed his landmark century.
He helped his nation set their opponents a target of 483 after they were 251 all out.
As the light faded over Lord's, so too did Sri Lanka's momentum in their record-attempting chase, with Gus Atkinson and Olly Stone claiming Nishan Madushka and Pathum Nissanka respectively.
Play was eventually halted due to bad light, and called off to be resumed on Sunday with the tourists at 53-2 with Dimuth Karunaratne (23) and Prabath Jayasuriya (three) at the crease.
Data Debrief: Root revels on record-breaking day
Day three of the second Test belonged to Root, whose century was also his quickest in Test cricket.
Adding to his 143 in England's first innings, he registered two tons in a match for the first time, while becoming only the fourth player to achieve that feat in a Test at Lord's.
Root also joins Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar in scoring 5,000 Test runs in two different decades, while closing the gap on Cook's all-time England tally (12,472) to just 95.
If that was not enough for him, he also took the catches for both of Sri Lanka's wickets, making him the first England player to reach 200 in Test cricket.
England dominate Sri Lanka after Atkinson's maiden Test century
England ended day two of the second Test versus Sri Lanka with a commanding 256-run lead, having skittled the tourists for 196 off the back of Gus Atkinson's century.
Joe Root's record-equalling 33rd red-ball century had ensured England ended a difficult opening day with a chance to build a commanding lead, and they did just that early on as Atkinson took centre-stage.
Resuming at 74 not out, Atkinson brought up his maiden Test century with a fine drive past mid-on shortly before lunch, eventually ending his knock with 14 fours and four sixes.
He would later fall for 118 to the outstanding Asitha Fernando, who then completed a five-for by removing Olly Stone to wrap up the England innings at 427 all out.
Any hopes Sri Lanka had of making an early dent in that target were frustrated, however, as England shared the wickets around in a brilliant team bowling performance.
Chris Woakes and Stone, who removed Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka within the space of five balls – left the tourists teetering at 35-3 by the end of the 10th over, and there was little help to come from the middle order.
Matthew Potts took the ball and sent stumps flying to account for Angelo Matthews and Dhananjaya de Silva in the 21st over, with Woakes, Stone and Atkinson later also doubling up as the tourists collapsed.
Kamindu Mendis' steady knock of 74 off 120 balls brought some respite for Sri Lanka, but he edged Atkinson's delivery into the palms of Woakes for the final wicket, failing to match his ton from the first Test at Old Trafford on a miserable day for the visitors.
England then avoided any drama when taking up the bat for seven overs before stumps, and Ben Duckett (15) and Pope (2) will resume at the crease on Saturday, hoping to make their handsome lead an unassailable one.
Data Debrief: Atkinson's big moment
While Root's heroics put England in a decent position ahead of Friday's play, Atkinson's brilliant 118 – coming off 115 balls – could prove the difference in this Test, allowing England to build a strong lead despite a lack of support from the lower order.
Atkinson's previous best red-ball knock was a score of 21 not out versus West Indies at Trent Bridge in July.
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