Tuesday 6 December 2016 13:45, UK
Jonny Wilkinson admits to being "in awe" of Eddie Jones' England squad, saying they have the ability to emulate the 2003 World Cup winners.
England beat Australia 37-21 at Twickenham on Saturday, to complete a perfect calendar year and equal the record of 14 successive Test triumphs set by Wilkinson and his team-mates 13 years ago.
An unblemished 12 months comprising of 13 wins sees England end 2016 placed second in the global rankings and Wilkinson, who has been working with Jones on an informal basis during the autumn campaign, admits the squad does not need much assistance.
"It's not to try to add anything," Wilkinson said. "I don't have anything to add to these guys, I promise you, I go there and watch.
"I'm in awe of what they're doing and how they're doing it but coming from 20 years of experience. However, that 20 years means nothing unless they tell me exactly what it means from them.
"I'm learning a lot about how they're doing things and it really is quite awe inspiring."
Wilkinson believes Jones' squad have developed the ability to cope with high-pressured situations, which was particularly evident in England's victory over Argentina in November that saw them win 27-14 despite losing Elliot Daly to a red card five minutes into the game.
"If anything, it just feels like there's an ability to control their own destiny,' Wilkinson added.
"By that, I mean whatever's happening to them on the field, they're starting to look like they're just capable of understanding it and reforming it and remoulding it into something that works for them.
"To be able to say, 'right, we're up against it and against a fabulous side. We're OK, no worries, we'll work it out' and that's the kind of the same image that's coming to me through training to preparing for the next game.
"It's just brilliant momentum where these guys are just picking up the ability to respond and choose the journey they want and they're choosing at the moment to go out there and perform. We need to keep that going."
