England Men win 2020 Guinness Six Nations
Victory over Italy coupled with a France win over Ireland saw Eddie Jones' men crowned champions.
It’s just a day short of nine months since it began, but England have won the 2020 Guinness Six Nations.
A bonus-point 34-5 victory over Italy combined with France’s win over Ireland in Paris meant England won the title on points difference.
It’s a record 29th title for England, two more than their nearest rivals Wales, and Eddie Jones’ third title in five years since taking charge.
Speaking from Rome, Jones said: “I’m very proud of all the players and staff. They’ve reacted superbly to the changing situations in the past couple of weeks and remained focused on the goal of winning the Guinness Six Nations.
“We’ll have a couple of days rest then get back together later next week and put everything we have into our preparation for the Autumn Nations Cup. It’s another really important tournament for us and I’ll be expecting the same levels of application as we work towards performing at our best."
Captain Owen Farrell added: “It feels like we're just getting started. Obviously there were four new caps today, Ben got his 100th cap and Jamie his 50th and we feel like we've got a brilliant blend of youth and experience to drive us forward.
"We all love being here, we all love being in camp. We all love working hard to improve and hopefully you see that when we get out there on the field."
The long road to Guinness Six Nations success
It was way back on 1 February that England travelled to France for their opening round game, which ended in a 24-17 defeat.
But Jones’ men bounced back with an Ellis Genge try helping them to beat Scotland in blizzard-like conditions at Murrayfield.
A convincing win over Ireland and victory over Wales at Twickenham followed those before the competition came to an abrupt halt due to coronavirus.
It would be a long wait for them to finish the tournament and the Italy game was to be their first since that game with Wales, way back in March.
A special day in Rome saw Ben Youngs become just the second man to reach 100 caps for England, scoring two tries on the way to a 34-5 win at the Stadio Olimpico.
Jamie George, celebrating his 50th England cap also crossed for a score and the bonus- point was wrapped up thanks to Tom Curry, with a fifth score added by Henry Slade.
Farrell added on Youngs' century: "I'm chuffed for him. It's a huge achievement to reach 100 caps, only the second man ever to do it for England, it's massive. To have such a good game as he did and now to get the trophy, I'm chuffed for him."
Jones also took time to acknowledge England's supporters: “It’s strange not having fans in the stadium and we know it is a tough time for the country but we felt your support throughout the campaign and it does make a difference. Hopefully we can continue to deliver more good moments for our fans in the coming weeks."
