England head coach Stuart Lancaster has admitted that his side "need" to win the Six Nations this year.

The Red Rose opened their campaign with a narrow defeat to France in Paris but have since bounced back with wins over Scotland and Ireland to keep themselves in the running.

Defending champions Wales are next up at Twickenham on Sunday, and Lancaster is looking to use their opponents' success last year, when they won the tournament having lost their opening match, as inspiration.

"I agree that we need to close the deal and win the tournament. It was the objective at the outset to try to win the tournament," Lancaster is quoted as saying by PA.

"We didn't quite achieve what we wanted against France. That put us on the back foot. From that point on we've used Wales as motivation, after they lost their first game against Ireland last year but went on to win the title.

"In order to win a championship you have got to win four straight after losing the first. No-one has won a title on three wins. If we can get the win on Sunday, it's still within our capability."

England, Wales, Ireland and France are all currently tied on points in one of the closest Six Nations tournaments in recent years.