Saturday 29 November 2014 20:04, UK
England will head into a World Cup year on a positive note after their 26-17 win over Australia at Twickenham on Saturday as they finally turned their forward dominance into points.
With wins against the Wallabies and Samoa, England finish their autumn series with two wins and two losses – after defeat to New Zealand and South Africa – but will be buoyed with the result on Saturday.
They have a pack who, on their day, can take on anyone, while George Ford’s tactical kicking and game management will surely see him as England’s first choice No 10.
World Cup winners Jonny Wilkinson, Sir Clive Woodward, Michael Lynagh and Will Greenwood look at the lessons England have learnt this autumn and how they stand heading into 2015 and that World Cup year.
"I am a really pleased for the team. I think today they showed a bit more pragmatism and playing in the right areas. They are also beginning to understand that it is about winning. Winning pretty and scoring some great tries is fabulous but ultimately you a have to win. They showed that they could do that against a very good team in a tough game.
"I think lessons have been learnt but if you receive them then you need them. You go through these hard times, you build from the bottom up and then go and attack these big games. England have had to learn some tough lessons but, for me, their strength is coming back at it, dealing with it all. Apart from their set-piece I though Australia were fabulous tonight. England have learnt their lessons and collectively and individually that would not have been easy.
"George Ford is an intelligent guy and he knows that everyone is talking about him and reviewing every single thing that he does. When things don't go quite right then he has to put it right himself and that takes and enormous amount of mental strength. He has had to do a couple of things out there – he has had to reset and re-evaluate and start again. He went back to the process and that takes mental strength."
I think England need to go with a really dominant forward pack; I still like kickers at 10 and 12, a power runner at 13 and real footballers on the wing.
"Ten months out from the World Cup, I don’t think Australia can fix their scrum but I also don't think England can become an all-court team either. So we need to be pragmatic – you get no prizes for performances in the World Cup, it is all about winning. I think England need to go with a really dominant forward pack; I still like kickers at 10 and 12, a power runner at 13 and real footballers on the wing. That would make us very difficult to beat. England need to play through their power pack now and take that into Cardiff. No one will want to play England at Twickenham if they come out with this frame of mind.
"The next steps for England are about game management and understanding that the higher up you go in world rugby you usually only win by a score. So it's about continuity of selection and game management. I really hope we get continuity especially for that Wales game. What also strikes me, sitting here with Jonny in the studio, is that goal kicking is really important Personally, I would still have Farrell in the team along with Ford. I think with 10 games to go before the World Cup it is about maximising every opportunity, England cannot afford to miss those drop goals or kicks.
“England will pose a huge challenge in next year’s World Cup – I always said home advantage will be a key factor in this. Despite the poor performances against New Zealand and South Africa I think tonight showed that if you get your forward pack going then anything is possible. I think England head into 2015 very confident and I think it will be a great year for them."
“I think England winning here shows that they will be very difficult to beat at Twickenham come the World Cup. They played smart today and I think this win will give them a big advantage.
"The scrum was a big problem for Australia tonight – that is the worst I have seen all year. Have we got enough time to fix it? I don't know, but as (head coach Michael) Cheika says, it is what it is and we have to deal with it. We have a few men to come back in the forwards but we seem to be saying this for years – we seem to have a blind spot in the scrum against England.
“I like George Ford at 10, he is a very good player, he has an all-round game and he reads the game well. I thought his game management was very good and he adds an extra dimension to England's game.”
“England have a set piece, they have a platform and they will have a home advantage. They found the bite and the intensity at the breakdown. We are never going to have the perfect midfield but what we have got in Brad Barritt is an absolute rock in defence and in Twelvetrees or Farrell you have two different options to go to.
"I think now is the time to let a side run – you cannot keep on tinkering. There may be a big neon sign of Manu Tuilagi coming back into that midfield but for now let’s give these guys game time.”
