McDermott eyes England clash

Barrie McDermott: Looking for a third consecutive victory

Ireland prop Barrie McDermott gives BBC Sport Online his exclusive verdict on the Irish victory over Scotland in their second Lincoln World Cup clash.

We've all but booked our place in the knock-out stage with our 18-6 victory over Scotland in Dublin and we are now the only unbeaten team in Group Four.

The result was the important thing on Wednesday but the performance wasn't one to write home about.

It would be a dream if we could win the group and land England

  McDermott

Ideally we would have turned on the style and shown Scotland exactly what we are capable of doing but we have got to be satisfied with the result because it leaves us in a very strong position.

But we shouldn't moan. We were the better team on the day and we had that little bit extra. I don't think they did enough to win the game.

Again, Steve Prescott was outstanding for us with his accurate kicking and the performance of our scrum-half Ryan Sheridan was another positive aspect of our game.

He seems to bridge that gap when he's playing behind me and he certainly gives me a bit of direction - which I am very grateful for.

With Saturday's fixture against the New Zealand Maori's getting ever closer we know that there is plenty of things which we can build on.

It is a massive clash because if we win it, we will inevitably avoid Australia who are most people's favourites to win the competition outright.

It would be a dream if we could win the group and land England in the quarter final.

Obviously, if we did lose to New Zealand Maori's then playing Australia would be an unbelievable experience.

They are a fantastic side to watch and an awesome side to play against. But I still think both Ireland and England can give them a run for their money.