After putting their World Cup nightmare to bed with a rousing return to form in a Grand Slam-winning Six Nations campaign, next in England’s sights are southern hemisphere giants Australia.
Coach Eddie Jones is on a mission to make the Red Rose the world’s No1 team. And with a three-match tour to his homeland this summer, key to their chances will be the Bath trio of George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson.
The club-mates played starring roles across the England three quarters during the Six Nations triumph – a first Slam in 13 years.
Centre Joseph and wing Watson finished as joint-second try-scorers with three apiece, while Ford shone in the No10 jersey. On holiday in Dubai this week, all three spoke in glowing terms about the benefits of taking their club combination on to the international stage.
“I think our relationship has gone from strength to strength playing for England,” said 22-year-old Watson, who scored key tries in each of England’s final three Six Nations games against Ireland, Wales and France. “That is especially true with George. He knows exactly where to find me, where I’ll be, and in terms of JJ defensively, having him inside me gives me a lot of confidence. We know each other inside out, it’s great for your rugby relationship to be playing at club and country level.”
Debate raged throughout the final year of Stuart Lancaster’s reign about who he should play at 10 – Ford or Owen Farrell – but Jones found room for both. Farrell shifted to 12 and Ford justified his selection at stand-off with some commanding performances.
Ford hailed team-mates Joseph and Watson as “special” and believes the trio can help England develop further in the pressure cooker atmosphere Down Under this June.
“We’ll look to finish the season strongly with Bath, hopefully we’ll get selected to go on the tour and stick together there, but we’ve got to get that bit right first. If we do, then it should be a decent summer,” said Ford, 23. “To play week in and week out and then with England is a huge help. You understand how they play and how to get the best out of them. As a fly-half that’s important because with JJ and Anthony outside you, you want to give them opportunities with the ball as they’re pretty special at what they do.”
Despite being just 24, Joseph is the elder of the three and while he admits their connection has been forged at The Rec, he says they have to adapt to the other players and the different environment when they meet up for England duty.
“The relationship is built in Bath. The more you play with players the better you understand them and the way they like to play, and you work off each other,” said Joseph, who scored a hat-trick in the 40-9 rout of Italy. “When we get to England it’s a new set-up, new players and we’ve got to get up to speed, but of course there’s a bit of knowledge between us three.”
Watson, Ford and Joseph were speaking to Sport360 at the Ritz Carlton in Dubai’s JBR, where they are staying while in the UAE.
ANTHONY WATSON
Age: 22
Position: Winger
England debut: November 8, 2014 v New Zealand
England caps: 20
England tries: 11
JONATHAN JOSEPH
Age: 24
Position: Centre
England debut: June 9, 2012 v South Africa
England caps: 21
England tries: 8
GEORGE FORD
Age: 23
Position: Fly-half
England debut: March 9, 2014, v Wales
England caps: 22
England points: 142 (three tries)