No siege mentality for England

"I don't think we need to," said coach Eddie Jones.

"It's something the other countries use to their advantage.

"We're the biggest country, in the UK, and we have advantages over the other countries and they know that."

The Australian added: "It's easy for them to have that siege mentality.

"It's hard for us to say we're disadvantaged against Ireland, Wales or Scotland, isn't it?

"We've got more players, we've got the biggest union in the world, we can't have that siege mentality.

"I don't want us to have that siege mentality, I only think it works in certain situations and that doesn't take you on to the world stage."

England head into their Six Nations opener against France at Twickenham on February 4 on a 14-match winning streak, with 13 of those victories – including a Six Nations Grand Slam last year – coming since Jones took charge after their first-round exit on home soil at the 2015 World Cup.

Jones, who has repeatedly made it clear his over-riding goal with England is to win the 2019 World Cup in Japan, said focusing on their rivals' resentment was not the way to knock world champions New Zealand off the summit of global Rugby Union.  

"The Six Nations is a very important tournament, but we are aiming to be the number one team in the world and we need to have the right mentality, which is a growth mentality," he explained.

Agence France-Presse