England head coach Stuart Lancaster believes his side will be in a position to challenge for next year’s RBS 6 Nations title despite recent history suggesting otherwise.
In the season following the past four British & Irish Lions tours France taken advantage of their opponents’ summer exploits by winning the championship.
This summer members of Lancaster’s squad were again involved in Lions duty in Australia, with fly-half Owen Farrell, centre Manu Tuilagi, lock Geoff Parling and props Dan Cole and Mako Vunipola among the Red Rose contingent down under.
But with an agreement in place with the English clubs to give their Lions an extended rest, Lancaster believes his best players will be firing on all cylinders come February 1 and their opener in Paris.
“The key thing is the rest period,” he said. “We’ve got in place agreements with our clubs to allow those in the Lions squad time to recover. The season finished on July 8. If you were knocked out in the Premiership your season ended on May 5, you were back in pre-season training on June 25.
“In the past, Lions players would have been straight back into the club action. But clubs are very sensible now, they don’t rely on senior players as much, they have big squads they can rotate. We must get that bit right. It is going to take management.”
