Hansen's praise on England is like wolf deceiving Little Red Riding Hood - Eddie Jones
Eddie Jones is not taking his eye off the big prize
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England boss Eddie Jones has compared praises from All Blacks coach Steve Hansen to the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood being deceived by the wolf.
Following England's 61-21 victory over Scotland at Twickenham last weekend, the red rose team have retained the Six Nations title and also matched New Zealand's record of 18 consecutive victories made by a tier one team.
The former Wales coach congratulated England on their resurgence and credited Jones for instilling the belief and confidence in the talented squad.
Both, England and New Zealand are yet to face each other since November 2014 and they do not have immediate fixtures scheduled as well but Hansen believes there will be an intriguing contest on offer when both the teams lock horns with each other.
Responding to the praises from Hansen, Jones said: "It’s a bit like red riding hood and the wolf when the wolf comes dressed up as the grandmother…..”
“You always have to be careful when All Black coaches compliment you, you always have to be careful.”
England started the Six Nations tournament with not so convincing wins against France, Wales and Italy and Jones revealed that the discussion in Oxford training camp helped the team to regroup before the Scotland encounter, which they won by 40 points.
“We had a bit of a cleansing meeting when we were in camp in Oxford,” Jones said.
“Not that we felt we weren’t doing what we needed to do, but we just felt we needed to reset our minds a little bit.
“It was about accepting that we’ve been successful. To me the English are quite reserved and they actually struggle quite a bit with success.
“I know the perception from the Celts is that it’s the opposite – they think the English are arrogant.
“As an Australian I think the English are very polite and reserved. And they struggle to actually carry that success around.
“What we said, and we had a great discussion, is that we have to acknowledge we’ve been successful and it’s how much we want to be great now.
“I thought we were always going to play well against Scotland – and I think we’ll play better this week.”
A victory against Ireland in the final round will make them the sixth team to win back-to-back Grand Slams while also surpassing New Zealand's world record of most consecutive wins and Jones believes there is enough motivation in line for the red rose team to end the season on a high.
“How many opportunities in your life do you get to beat Ireland in Ireland to win back-to-back Grand Slams? It’s almost a childhood dream as a rugby player,” Jones said.
“The players realise they have a once in a lifetime opportunity here. History shows that winning back-to-back Grand Slams happens once every 27 years.”
