Jack Nowell has urged England to be brave by attacking the final two rounds of their Six Nations title quest.
Ireland visit Twickenham on Saturday before the Championship closes against France in Paris a week later and both rivals for Wales’ crown must be dispatched if Eddie Jones’ men are to prevail.
England’s attack has functioned sporadically so far, with the team taking a significant step backwards following a successful autumn amid Jones’ declared intent of getting it to fire in time for next year’s World Cup.
Nowell admits it is a work in progress but believes that adopting the right mindset is crucial.
“A lot of it is about being brave. There have been times in the past with England – and we have all seen it – when we had chances to go but maybe we have dropped into a kick,” the Exeter winger said.
“The game changes with different teams you play against, but we are being backed by the coaches.
“With the players we have in the squad now, if we see that chance to go, wherever we are on the field, we want to give it a go and give it a good chance to attack and get ourselves down there.
“It is the awareness of knowing when to go. The communication and the chat is important.
“When we have guys like Harry Randall and Marcus Smith, you need to give them time to do their stuff.
“It’s about playing what we have got in front of us. We are not silly with it, we are not chucking the ball around and not trying to look for something that isn’t on.
“We can always drop into something else after if we are stopped with their defence. I get excited in meetings when we talk about us throwing the ball around and having a go.
“Anything could happen at the weekend when we come up against Ireland, but I am pretty sure they will be saying the same thing about us as well.”
England’s only defeat came in the opening round against Scotland and Nowell insists that setback has simplified their objectives.
“If anything it has made it easier for us. By losing that game against Scotland at the start, every single game we come up against now is a must-win,” he said.
“It has cleared it up a little bit for us. We know now that we have literally got to go out every weekend and give it everything, there is no holding back.”
