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Johnny Sexton admits Ireland are currently falling short of being a top international team and must prove their credentials by ending the Guinness Six Nations with an overdue win over England.<\/p>\nJohnny Sexton admits Ireland are currently falling short of being a top international team and must prove their credentials by ending the Guinness Six Nations with an overdue win over England.<\/p>\n
Defensive errors against Scotland on Sunday caused a 14-point lead to evaporate before a late penalty from nerveless captain Sexton allowed them to escape with a slender 27-24 success.<\/p>\n
Victory at Murrayfield moved the Irish second in the tournament standings ahead of the final weekend showdown with Eddie Jones\u2019 men in Dublin.<\/p>\n
Ireland are still seeking a first major scalp of the Andy Farrell era having twice been beaten by both France and England since the start of 2020.<\/p>\n
Sexton was far from happy with the manner of the win in Edinburgh and \u2013 after early defeats to Grand Slam-chasing Wales and Les Bleus derailed their Championship hopes \u2013 wants to end an unconvincing campaign on a high.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs good a team as Scotland are, we have to look at ourselves first and foremost and need to improve,\u201d said the 35-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a 14-point lead in international rugby, the next moment is the most important one and you can \u2013 not finish the game \u2013 but put a statement down.<\/p>\n
\u201cTop teams they take the kick-off, they clear their lines and then they put pressure on again. We\u2019re just short of that at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Focusing on England \u2013 who suffered surprise defeats to Scotland and Wales last month \u2013 Sexton continued: \u201cWe\u2019re up to second now, so big end to the tournament next week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel that we\u2019ve been building.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel we were a little bit unlucky in the first couple of games but we\u2019re playing against \u2013 even though they\u2019ve had a couple of bad results \u2013 the team that was in the World Cup final, the team that won the Six Nations last year, the team that won the Autumn Nations Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a top, top team and we have to prove that we can match them and put in a performance to beat one of the top teams because we haven\u2019t done it as of yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ireland have not defeated England since clinching the 2018 Grand Slam in London, losing each of the four subsequent meetings.<\/p>\n
After their title defense was snuffed out with two rounds to spare, the English responded with a statement win from Saturday\u2019s enthralling clash with France.<\/p>\n
Ireland head coach Farrell was impressed with the quality of that encounter and expects to face a buoyant England side.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as the English are concerned, they\u2019ll certainly reference their performance next week on what happened in the last performance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor all of the purists of rugby, I thought it was an outstanding game and both teams were deserved winners in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cEngland played some outstanding rugby and so did France. That\u2019s the team we\u2019ve got coming over.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding their campaign so far, that\u2019s for them to talk about not us.\u201d<\/p>\n