England equals All Blacks record - how the world reacted

England rugby star Jonathan Joseph. Photosport

The world is impressed, but not totally convinced, by the England rugby team after their 40-point thrashing of Scotland at Twickenham brought them level with an All Black record.

England will be gunning for the record streak of 19 wins by a tier one nation when they play Ireland in Dublin this weekend.

With the Vern Cotter-coached Scottish side falling well short of preventing England equalling the All Blacks' record, it is now up to Joe Schmidt's Ireland to protect New Zealand's honour.

England's 2003 World Cup winning coach Clive Woodward, in his Daily Mail column: "Make no mistake this is a great England side with the rugby world at their feet. You don't win 18 Tests in a row by being anything other than quite exceptional but I am so pleased they hit top gear on Saturday to underline that fact and also give us a tantalising glimpse of the future."

Aimee Lewis on CNN wrote: "This was a sensational performance from a side whose claim to greatness has been questioned after unconvincing wins in their opening three matches of this tournament.

"Whether England are yet the equal of New Zealand - double World Champions and the world's top-ranked team - on the pitch is still open to question. Many would answer a firm no.

"(England coach Eddie) Jones himself admitted there was still a gap between the All Blacks and his second-ranked England. This result, however, would have made the All Blacks take note."

Writing in the Telegraph, Mick Cleary was in full flow and reckoned: "If New Zealand had played with such sustained gusto and drive, accuracy too, then they would be lauded. And so should England be. (they claimed) the significant milestone of a world record-equalling 18th consecutive victory. If there were doubts as to England's exalted status, now there are none. If there was carping, it is silenced."

Hugh Godwin, in the Independent, was cautiously enthusiastic: "It may not yet be the sustained pomp of 1991 to 2003, when England held the Five/Six Nations title in seven years out of 13, but here at Twickenham, on the warmest day of 2017 so far, the crowd was more than happy to take it."

Former English halfback Matt Dawson (reported on the BBC site): "If England are going to play like that next week, I don't know how Ireland are going to win that game. Eddie Jones has created so much pressure on this side over the past few weeks and this has been their response, a 40-point whipping of Scotland."

Former Scotland captain Gavin Hastings (reported on the BBC site): "My goodness me, England were imperious. They will be very pleased with that, but it was an armchair ride they had for most of the afternoon. Scotland and their supporters will be bitterly disappointed, they just did not turn up."

Long time England centre Will Greenwood described England as "brutal" and cricketer Stuart Broad bounced in, saying England had a rugby team to be "very proud of".

Variety of ways you can write this.. @EnglandRugby are Outstanding... Brutal today in physicality and precision. Awesome to watch.

— Will Greenwood (@WillGreenwood) March 11, 2017

We really do have a national rugby team to be very proud of! 🌹🌹🌹@EnglandRugby Quality

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) March 11, 2017