Jack Nowell urges England to be brave against Ireland to sustain title hopes

Jack Nowell has called on England to play “brave” rugby against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday as they aim to stay in the race for the Six Nations title. The penultimate round is in effect an eliminator for both teams after England lost their opener against Scotland and Ireland were beaten by France in round two.

Crossing the try-line is a priority for the two sides that retain realistic hope of overhauling Les Bleus, the grand slam-hunting championship leaders who have three wins out of three.

England know that two bonus-point wins would secure the championship outright, provided they deprive France of a bonus point on the final day. The maximum 10 points now available for Ireland, who will host Scotland in their final match, would likely bring the title if France lose to Wales or England.

“It is about being brave,” Nowell said. “We are being backed by the coaches, if we see that chance to ‘go’, it doesn’t matter where on the field, we want to try and give it a good go. There have been times with England, I think we’d all admit it … where we could have had chances to ‘go’ [but] maybe we’ve just dropped into a kick.”

The Exeter wing added: “It’s just about playing what we’ve got in front of us. Obviously we’re not silly with it. We’re not chucking the ball around and trying to look for something that’s not on.”

There has been much recent talk of a “New England” and an increased emphasis on attack, rather than defence and kick-chase, but Nowell concedes the back line has not yet achieved the fluency they are aiming for.

England were outscored by three tries to one in the 23-19 victory against Wales, relying on Marcus Smith’s 18 points from the kicking tee to get over the line, and Nowell says they are trying to be more