Eddie Jones, the England head coach, catches the ball during the England training session. Photo/Getty Images
Eddie Jones, the England head coach, catches the ball during the England training session. Photo/Getty Images
England are nowhere near hitting their peak yet under coach Eddie Jones, according to Rugby World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio.
The Red Rose have only lost one game since Jones took over - an impressive turnaround for a side that slumped out in the pool stages of their own WorldCup less than two years ago.
Since then, they have claimed back-to-back Six Nations crowns, including a Grand Slam last year, as well as a whitewash of the Wallabies in Australia.
But this summer has convinced Dallaglio that England have not yet reached their peak, after a side deprived of 17 of their first-choice stars on the Lions tour downed Argentina twice in South America.
The two clashes with the Pumas saw 11 debutants introduced and while England are now up to No 2 in the IRB world rankings, the added competition will drive England to higher heights.
"Inevitably, with the Lions tour, the spotlight was focused elsewhere, but in many ways, it makes the Argentina tour more of an accomplishment and an achievement," said the former England captain, who was speaking at this week's Crabbie's National Rugby Awards at Twickenham.
"Eddie Jones knew what he wanted to achieve on the trip, he was able to dig into a very deep pool of talent and what it showed was the depth of the talent pool is vast.
"Many young people really put themselves forward, because Argentina is not an easy place to play, especially not in recent years, where they've become much stronger rugby nation themselves.
"These are healthy options for Eddie Jones to have.
Lawrence Dallaglio during Aviva Premiership match between Harlequins and Gloucester. Photo/Getty Images
"When I was involved in the England team, one of the things that kept us improving all the time was having players who continually competed against each other, not just one world-class player in each position but two or three."
Youngsters like Denny Solomona, Tom Curry, Sam Underhill and Harry Williams all flourished against the Pumas, and it will be vital for England's development that they continue to build momentum this autumn, when they take on Australia, Samoa and the Pumas once more.
"Not only getting the 2-0 result, but to get it in the manner in which they did to have a real go at Argentina and come out on top. I guess the games could easily have gone the other way, but England showed great character," he said.
"They will continue to build, and I can only see us getting better and better under Eddie Jones, the confidence is there.
"They will continue to try and improve all the time, and the plan is to go into the World Cup having a realistic opportunity to win it."
New Zealand remain the No 1 side in world rugby, having downed Australia twice -albeit unconvincingly - this month already in the Rugby Championship.
But Steve Hansen's side are in Jones' crosshairs and Dallaglio is excited about where this England side can go.
"They're currently second in the world, and to be world champions and the best side in the world, they know there is another level they need to reach but they're well on the way towards doing that," he added.
"They're going to be one of a number of teams fully capable of winning the competition, but before that, they've got a chance to show that consistency they've shown.
"Since the last game of World Cup 2015, they've played 21 and lost once - that tells you there's an immensely talented squad and talented group of people who are going in the right direction.
"To win a World Cup, you have to turn up and win seven games on the bounce, and probably beat two or three of your close competitors. There's still a bit to do, but they're in a very strong position."
