Owen Farrell displayed his true "controlled" temperament in England's stunning 32-20 win over Ireland in Dublin, according to Mike Ford.
Former Ireland international Peter Stringer branded Farrell a "hothead" before England's four-try Six Nations victory on Saturday.
But former England and Ireland defence coach Ford believes those comments backfired, as Farrell remained calm under pressure as Eddie Jones' got their Six Nations campaign off to a winning stat in arguably their toughest fixture of the tournament.
"Owen Farrell is perceived wrongly; he's ultra-competitive, and that's what it is," said Ford, father of England fly-half George Ford.
"He wants to win, and at times, people view that differently. But on Saturday, he was controlled all the way through. It's a long time since Peter [Stringer] has played with Faz [at Saracens].
"You can have a week away, you can be away from a camp for a week and you can honestly not know for sure what's going on. So many decisions are made every day in a camp that people don't know about.
"I think it was designed to get under England's skin a little bit, but it just didn't work."
Ford was impressed with England as a whole, with Manu Tuilagi and Mako and Billy Vunipola putting in powerful performances, while Henry Slade went over for two tries, with Jonny May and Elliot Daly also crossing.
"England looked fantastic, from the first to the last second," added Ford.
"Ireland came back into it like the good side they are, but England never let their foot off the throat.
"I don't think winning or losing that game has an indication on the World Cup, I really don't.
"When it comes to World Cup quarter-finals or semi-finals, it's always the last 10 minutes that decide whether you will win or not.
"I think it's clear England can play a couple of ways, and they will need to, to win the World Cup.
"The balance, to kick, run, go over the top of people, beat them with skill or pace; England showed everything at the weekend."