After watching his side secure a ninth Test victory out of 10 in 2017 with the 48-14 victory over Samoa, Eddie Jones immediately turned his attentions towards “making history” by winning the Six Nations for a third consecutive time.

England will aim to become the only side to win the title outright three times in a row when the European championship returns in February, and they will do so having completed what Jones set out to do in bolstering their strength in depth during a transitional year.

Jones was keen to point that out after, stating that he’s given 12 new caps this year along with the unbeaten tour of Argentina with a depleted side due to British and Irish Lions call-ups. But after admitting that he was pleased with the seven-try rout of Samoa, Jones made it clear that England still need to improve if they are to retain the Six Nations crown for a second time in a row.

England vs Samoa player ratings Show all 15 1 /15 England vs Samoa player ratings England vs Samoa player ratings 15. Mike Brown – 7 out of 10 Smart support line off Itoje brought the first try after just one minute, and held up Ioane shortly before the Samoan try. Up-and-under after the break caused chaos among the Samoan defence and led to a chance that couldn’t be taken. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 14. Jonny May – 7 out of 10 Intelligent play saw him make all of 30m after a quick lineout and dazzling step to wrong-foot Fonotia. Suffered a concussion shortly after the break by a swinging arm from Leiua that went unnoticed. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 13. Henry Slade – 7 out of 10 Very impressive running with the ball and his ability to pass at full tilt brings the best out of the two wings outside him. Didn’t have to kick much, which suited his game. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 12. Alex Lozowski – 7 out of 10 On hand to finish the second try after a smart pass from George, but paid the price a few minutes later as he was on the end of a bone-crunching hit from Leiau. Did well to recover and continue, though conceded a penalty for not rolling and also butchered a chance just before the break with a knock-on. Replaced by Piers Francis three minutes shy of the hour. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 11. Elliot Daly – 8 out of 10 Good harassment of Nanai-Williams brought the second try as he forced the fly-half into an error. Produced two beautiful finishes in the second half, the first from dancing inside two defenders and the second where he beat six men to run in from 35m out. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 10. George Ford – 8 out of 10 Probably his most mature performance on the day he co-captained the side with Chris Robshaw. Triggered a number of slick back moves that produced space out wide and kept his teammates – on the whole – out of Samoan range. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 9. Danny Care – 7 out of 10 Lively around the ball and produced a quickness that Ben Youngs slightly lacks. Had to wear a big hit when he was caught in front of the ball carrier that required a bit of treatment. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 1. Ellis Genge – 7 out of 10 Very solid in the front-row battle and did his work in defence well. Replaced by Joe Marler soon after the break, and will have been disappointed not to see more action. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 2. Jamie George – 8 out of 10 Appeared to take his chance to shine in Dylan Hartley’s absence as he set-up the second try for Lozowski and was on the money in the lineout. The Saracen also fronted up in the scrum, and he took his leave 64 minutes in as the skipper returned. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 3. Dan Cole – 7 out of 10 Gave away a sloppy penalty for coming in to the ruck at the side, but made up for it a minute later when he sealed a turnover in the ruck that triggered an England attack. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 4. Joe Launchbury – 6 out of 10 Gave England’s maul its grunt, which was made all the more prevalent when he was forced off the field after half an hour with a shoulder injury and the driving maul ceased to be a weapon. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 5. Charlie Ewels – 7 out of 10 A good line outside Maro Itoje allowed Care to miss out the Saracens forward and feed Ewels to crash over and score the third try. Penalised in the second half for holding a defender at the ruck, but on the whole it was a strong showing. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 5. Maro Itoje – 7 out of 10 Carried well, particularly in the second half when he tried to run over David Lemi. A useful option running the lineout in England’s wealth of options, and he packed down in the second-row once Launchbury had to leave. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 7. Chris Robshaw – 7 out of 10 He was right in predicting that he would not change his game. Played like a blindside flanker – almost a six-and-a-half... – as he wasn’t able to impose at the breakdown but stole ball in the lineout and led the defensive effort. One poor pass to the opposition did not tarnish another workman performance. Getty England vs Samoa player ratings 8. Sam Simmonds – 8 out of 10 Watching the game back, you would not believe that Simmonds was making just his third appearance. Strong running and dogged work in the breakdown saw him stand out in the absence of England’s two recognised No 8s. Getty

“We're moving in the right direction. We've had three good wins,” Jones said, reflecting on the three autumn victories over Argentina, Australia and now Samoa. “The slugathon the first game, second game we finished well, good performance in the third game, we learnt a lot. A very positive autumn, though it's got to be winter now.”

He added: “I'm excited about the Six Nations as we've got a chance to create history.

“We want to get better every game. Every game we play we want to get better. Sometimes the game's hard to beat. We just want to make sure we hang in there, we do all the small things right in every game and give ourselves the chance of being better.”

Jones’s aim is still to plot the downfall of the All Blacks and win the Rugby World Cup. England will face New Zealand next autumn for the first time since 2014, with the next World Cup firmly on the horizon the following year.

Having seen the All Blacks beaten by Ireland, the Lions and Australia in the space of a calendar year, there have been many who believe that their unbeatable aura is beginning to fade, but Jones immediately rejected this.

Jones wants Sam Simmonds to put on more muscle to challenge the best back-rows (Getty)

He said: “I saw those comments about the All Blacks being in decay. If you've got a 93 per cent winning record and you're in decay, you're not going too badly, are you? That's how things are judged these days, if they're not winning at 96 per cent. We get criticised at 95 per cent. We're going backwards down the hill. I'm not sure who is in decay, whether it's New Zealand or ourselves.”

Jones confirmed that the shoulder injury to Joe Launchbury and the head knock to Jonny May “doesn’t appear to be too bad”, and also offered his thoughts on a number of the fringe players that were brought into the squad. Sam Simmonds and Jamie George both made their first England starts, while Ellis Genge and Charlie Ewels were also brought into a fairly inexperienced pack that dominated their Samoan opponents.

“It was all three, for them, a difficult game,” Jones said of Simmonds, Ewels and Genge. “Simmonds I thought did pretty well. He's a good young rugby player. We've just got to get some beef on him. We might have to send him down to Miyazaki in Japan and get him to eat some Miyazaki beef. Obviously those Cornish pasties aren't working!

“He's got a nice feel for the game, he works hard. He doesn't talk a lot, just gets on with the job. [He’s a] good prospect for us.

““Against the bigger sides he's going to need that. He just needs a bit more ballast, just a little bit more.