(Reuters) - Billy Vunipola believes England have the mental strength to carry the weight of expectations as they set their sights on a second successive Six Nations grand slam with a win against Ireland on Saturday. "I would probably say the Ireland game is more mental than physical because we have never been in this position before, whereby we can push even further on," number eight Vunipola told British media. "The grand slam was our goal at the start of the tournament and we're firmly pushing towards it." Vunipola believes they are closer than ever to achieving their target of overhauling New Zealand, whose record of 18 straight wins they matched on Saturday, at the top of the World Rugby rankings. We know we're not number one yet but we want to do things within our power to show we are serious about this goal."

Source: The Star March 13, 2017 08:48 UTC