Sunday 30 November 2014 16:06, UK
England lock Dave Attwood doesn’t care if the national side are branded "the most boring team in the world" as long as they win.
The Bath second row was a key component in a pack which provided the base for a 26-17 win over Australia in the final autumn international at Twickenham on Saturday.
Ben Morgan scored both of England’s tries – a direct result of scrum dominance – and while Stuart Lancaster’s side has struggled to produce much fluent back play this season, Attwood is happy with the way the forwards are performing.
"People can say we're the most boring team in the world if they want, but at the end of the day, winning is winning," said Attwood.
"No one cares about style if you lose: no one is going to say, 'oh, you lost by three points, but you played so excitingly'.
"People might talk about that for a day, but two months later, three months later, three years, six years later, nobody cares: people only care about results.
"We're in the business of producing results, so we're bitterly disappointed about the first two results, very pleased with the second two.
"So we'll build on that momentum and carry that into the Six Nations."
People can say we're the most boring team in the world if they want, but at the end of the day, winning is winning.
That tournament will also provide Lancaster with the opportunity to establish his best combinations for next year's World Cup, with much of the emphasis on midfield selection, which remains uncertain despite steady tactical work from fly-half George Ford.
Billy Twelvetrees, restored after a four-Test exile, was overawed by Australia's Matt Toomua in the centre on Saturday, while Brad Barritt was combative in defence and limited in attack.
Attwood underscored England's tight-five depth by excelling across the autumn in the absence of the injured Joe Launchbury and played his part in a pack which put the squeeze on the Wallabies on Saturday.
"That's the nature of international rugby: if you can pile pressure on the opposition eventually you will get your reward," said Attwood.
"The first couple of scrums, to be fair they came at us; and it was a pretty stern contest. But in the third or fourth scrum, we got the ball in, we kept it in, and they decided 'right, let's start defending now'.
"That's the green light: think, 'well, you can defend all you want, we're going to take a penalty here'. We've got some really credible threats up front; Davey Wilson and Joe Marler are in great form.
"Then there's Dylan Hartley going well and Rob Webber when he came on, so we've got some great players in the front row."
