Jones urges England to learn from Arsenal's mistakes

England must not allow the complacency that affected Arsenal against Watford to creep into their game when they host France in the Six Nations, says Eddie Jones.

Jones’ side are the dominant force in the northern hemisphere after going unbeaten throughout 2016 – a run that brought a Six Nations grand slam, a 3-0 series win in Australia and a clean sweep in the November internationals.

They go into their opening match of this year’s Six Nations as overwhelming favourites for the title, and boast a 10-year unbeaten record against France at home.

All the odds appear stacked in favour of a home win on Saturday, but after watching Arsenal lose 2-1 to Watford in the Premier League on Tuesday, Jones is keen for avoid any complacency.

“We had lovely discussions [about it],” he said. “Arsenal was a good example. 

“They [Arsenal] go there, second in the comp playing against a team that hasn’t won for seven games. They [Watford] score a lucky first goal, second goal goes in and it’s 2-0 and the team wakes up. 

“If we do that against France we’re going to be in trouble because they can score some points. 

“So it’s really important we’re in the game right from the start. Because it’s here, right here in the head and it’s not thinking we’ve done things right, it’s not thinking we’ve done some great preparation, it’s what we’ve got to do next.”

He added: “We don’t control the motivation of the other team, we just control ourselves. And we know what we’re going to face against France at Twickenham. 

“We’re going to face a side that’s desperate for success. They’re under pressure to play with the French flair. They’re under pressure to play with the French flair, the coach has been talking about that. They want to play like that. 

“And that puts a certain pressure on them. And for us, they’re coming to Twickenham, our home ground, with pressure to play a certain way. And to play with traditional French flair is difficult. And so we expect it to be difficult for them.”