Dylan Hartley is confident that England can carry their RBS 6 Nations success into summer glory when they take on Australia in a three-Test series.
The Red Rose skipper led England to a first Grand Slam in 13 years and will now captain the side for their clashes with the Wallabies.
England have not won in Australia since 2010, and have won just three of 17 matches down under.
However Hartley believes the team has shown enough to indicate they can really challenge the Wallabies on their own patch, with the first Test next Saturday in Brisbane.
He said: “Why can’t we win the series? What’s the point in going if we don’t want to win it? We’ve never won so it’s a huge opportunity for us.
“I don’t think there’s any harm in saying we want to win the series, because what’s the point in touring otherwise. This isn’t just a make up the numbers game at the end of the season, we want to go down and challenge them.”
