Criticism on England unfair - Courtney Lawes
Courtney Lawes is not underestimating the threat posed by Scotland
©PA
Northampton Saints lock Courtney Lawes has credited England opponents in the ongoing Six Nations tournament for pushing the red rose team to the limits.
In their opening game against France, Guy Noves' men had a 12-16 lead until the final 10 minutes where replacement Ben Te'o crossed over to take England out of the woods and in the second game against Wales, England scored 10 points in the closing stages riding on Elliot Daly's touchdown to seal a thrilling 16-21 victory.
In the third round against Italy, England were caught off the guard with the Azzurri's ruckless tactics but eventually turned things around in the second half where they scored five tries.
Brushing aside the criticism that England are not at their best in their Grand Slam title defence, Lawes believes opponents are desperate to find ways to beat the number two team in the world, who have enjoyed a winning streak for more than a year.
"We've got a massive target on our backs and teams are stepping up because they really want to beat us. We prepare for that and have got to deal with it," the Northampton second row said.
"France came hard and we had to rally, Wales too, and Italy came with their strategy.
"Everyone is saying we have not played well and this and that, but people are upping their games against us, really turning up."
England are lined-up against Scotland next and the Dark Blues had a pretty good tournament so far defeating Ireland and Wales and the 28-year-old urged his team to put their best performance on Saturday at Twickenham.
"That gives us massive confidence. Scotland are a massive test and we have to focus on rising to that.
"Scotland are very confident. They beat Wales and lost to France before that, but they still feel they're on a roll.
"They're coming to Twickenham full of confidence. They have a big, physical pack and they've got a good, pretty clinical backline.
"We know what we're up against and we're going to train how's best for us to beat that."
Our 6 Nations cover is sponsored by Allett Mowers
