Southgate implores England to learn from rugby counterparts

REUTERS - England's soccer team need to develop and maintain the same ruthless winning mentality as the country's rugby team, manager Gareth Southgate has said.

The England rugby team are in the midst of an unprecedented run of success under Eddie Jones, who replaced Stuart Lancaster following their early exit in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

"It's clear they don't believe they can be beaten. That plays a huge role," Southgate told British media after Jones' side scored a late converted try to beat Wales 21-16 in Cardiff last Saturday to extend their winning streak to 16 games.

"You get a sense of the culture that's there. One of the things I was interested in was that culture," added Southgate, who has been given a similar task to revive the England soccer team after they crashed out of Euro 2016.

"How are they working? How do they deliver? Because that's what we are trying to take into the England team: how do we create an environment that will bring the best out of the players?

"Confidence plays a part. As a coach you're working out how to challenge at every moment. That said, the challenge should also come from the players themselves. Ownership of what they are doing is really important."

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru)