England will be gunning for Grand Slam revenge – Sexton

Jonathan Sexton concedes that England will be “licking their lips” at the prospect of denying Ireland a Grand Slam when the two sides meet next weekend.

Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions on Saturday with a match to spare after England lost 22-16 to France.

Joe Schmidt’s men had beaten Scotland 28-8 in Dublin earlier in the day, crucially running in four tries to pile the pressure on England ahead of their clash in Paris.

In 2017, Ireland denied England a Grand Slam when they met in the final round with the latter already assured of the Six Nations title.

England will seek to gain revenge for that reverse next Saturday at Twickenham and fly-half Sexton is under no illusions that they will provide a formidable foe.

“It’s very muted upstairs – it’s a strange feeling to win the Championship with a game to go,” Sexton said.

IRTV: @JohnnySexton & Joe Schmidt give their reaction to Ireland being crowned #NatWest6Nations Champions with one game to go. #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/Cz8gBQJUgg

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 10, 2018

“There’s so much still to play for and we know how difficult it is going to be against England. The boot is on the other foot after last year and I’m sure they’ll be licking their lips.

“Every time you pull on your international jersey at home, in front of family and friends, you don’t need any motivation.

“It’s the exact same for England – I know a lot of the players and they’re a proud bunch of people. They’ll be gunning for us.”

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