Tuesday 23 February 2016 12:36, UK
Scrum-half Danny Care says England owe their fans a Six Nations win against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday after their disappointing showing at the World Cup.
England became the first tournament hosts to be dumped out in the group stages after losing to both Wales and Australia - an outcome which signalled the end of Stuart Lancaster's reign as head coach.
However, things are looking up for England under new coach Eddie Jones and they enter Saturday's game on top of the Six Nations table after two wins from two against Scotland and Italy.
"It's a new era now, it's a new chapter of English rugby," Care said. "We have that first chance back at home to put in a good performance, both for ourselves, and for the fans that are hurting still from the World Cup.
"The support we have had from the first two games has been incredible. I think the fans are fully behind us and they can see where we are going and what we are trying to do.
"It's up to us to put in a good enough performance to hopefully get another win. We have started really well with two wins and no tries conceded. We want to keep that run going."
Two-time defending champions Ireland limp into Saturday's contest still looking for their first win of the campaign after drawing with Wales in Dublin and losing to France in Paris.
Joe Schmidt's men have a lengthy injury list which includes the likes of Sean O'Brien, Iain Henderson, Peter O'Mahony, Mike McCarthy, Dave Kearney, Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald ruled out for the rest of the tournament while centre Jared Payne is an injury doubt.
Despite this, Care insists England are not taking Ireland lightly and believes they will have to produce their best performance of the tournament so far to win.
"We know Ireland is a step up and they will be coming here smarting from the result in Paris," Care said. "They will want to come here and spoil the English party."
Jones has spoken of his desire to use this Six Nations tournament to boost the fitness levels of England's players to where he feels they need to be to meet the demands of playing Test matches against the world's top sides.
Care admitted the training sessions have been gruelling but he is hopeful the team will see the benefits of their hard work as the tournament progresses.
"The way we are training is short and sharp but it is incredibly intense," Care said. "We are running faster and that is the way we want to be.
"We want to play at a quick, fast tempo game. We want to get physical dominance up front with the big boys and then shift the ball out wide to the game-changers on the wings.
"Hopefully we are getting there."
