England head coach Eddie Jones has distanced his team from the prospect of finishing fifth in the Six Nations for a second straight year, insisting they can beat leaders France in Paris on Saturday.
The Twickenham hosts were humbled 32-15 at home to Ireland in the fourth round after lock Charlie Ewels was sent off for a dangerous tackle in the second minute.
It leaves England third in the standings with one game to go, but the seven-time champions could end up placing above only Italy if they fall to France, who are one game from winning the Grand Slam.
Jones, 62, conceded such a result would be unacceptable for a team like England, who lost to South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.
"It’s not good enough," he told reporters following Saturday's defeat, which marked Ireland's biggest win at Twickenham. "Why would it be good enough?"
His new-look England lost the Calcutta Cup to Scotland in the opening round of this year's Six Nations, with the two teams level on 10 points apiece heading into the final weekend.
Second-place Ireland close their tournament at home to the Scots, while fifth-place Wales —who sit on six points—could feasibly leap up to third if they seal a bonus-point win at home to Italy.
England's task of upsetting France in Paris is complicated by the fact star back-rower Tom Curry is set to miss out due to a hamstring injury, while Manu Tuilagi remains sidelined with a similar complaint.
That being said, England deservedly courted praise for their performance with a one-man deficit during the recent defeat to Ireland, with the scoreline only 18-15 entering the final seven minutes.
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"We’re only going to get better and we’ll do that by working hard on the field," Jones continued.
"We’ve taken massive steps forward. Obviously, our aim was to win the championship. We’re disappointed we haven’t, but sometimes circumstances mean the results don’t mimic the performances. The results will catch up."
Andy Farrell's men will become temporary English fans for the last fixture of the tournament, meanwhile, as a win over Scotland would bring them the title should France fall at the final hurdle.
Les Bleus are on the verge of winning the competition for the first time since 2010, but cracks started to show on Friday during a tenser-than-expected 13-9 victory against Wales.
"We’ll have a good win against France," said Jones before his squad makes the trip to Paris.
"We’ve beaten France in our last two games, so we’ve got a pretty good idea of how to play against them.
"We want to take it to them. For them to be playing for the Grand Slam, it does become something in their head and the only way we can make that live in their head a bit more is to play with such intensity that we put them on the back foot."
Hooker Jamie George trod a similar line and said he was "desperate to win" against the title favourites, the kind of result that would lift English spirits 18 months out from the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Having finished as runners-up in Japan almost three years ago, England went on to win the 2020 Six Nations crown but have since shown signs of slipping at key moments.
Jones is correct to highlight England have beaten Fabien Galthie's side in back-to-back meetings, though those both took place at Twickenham, whereas they've lost their last two clashes at the Stade de France.
Motivation may not be in question for an England squad galvanised in defeat to Ireland, but that may not be sufficient to surpass a growing contender to win the World Cup on home soil next year.
