Former Wallabies great Michael Lynagh says that England could win their June Tour series against Australia’s Wallabies 3-0.
Six Nations Grand Slam champions England will play three Test matches in Australia in June and Lynagh says that a 3-0 series win is a “realistic” ambition for Eddie Jones’s side.
England under Jones have yet to lose a match but Australia are ranked higher in the world rankings than any team in the Six Nations and are second while England are fourth.
In their last meeting Australia beat England 13-33 at Twickenham in the Rugby World Cup and the English will be looking for revenge as the result knocked them out of the world cup.
England’s Six Nations Grand Slam this year is their first clean sweep of their European rivals since 2003, when just months later England beat an Australia side coached by Jones in the World Cup final.
“Eddie’s going down there to win the series 3-0 and why not? It’s realistic. It’s a good squad,” former Australia fly-half Lynagh told the BBC.
“The only thing is, it’s the end of the season and a lot of the England players will be involved in Premiership and European finals.
“It’s going to be a fascinating series,” added Lynagh, who scored an Australian record 911 points in 72 Tests from 1984-1995.
Lynagh, who finished his rugby career with London club Saracens, believes Jones has restored a bullish belief to England’s play that was missing under former coach Stuart Lancaster.
“He’s come in and said ‘we are going to be arrogant, we have to be like that to win’,” said the 52-year-old.
“I think Eddie looks at the culture of English rugby and there is a perception that arrogance is part of it — so he’s said we’ll go and do that,” added Lynagh, three years into his recovery from a stroke.
“He’s not trying to ‘Australianise’ England. It would be wrong to do that, you have to come in and work on what culturally works within the country.”
