In his Six Nations column, the Betway ambassador and Grand Slam winner says upcoming home games can put World Cup firmly in the past
There is no doubt that the final scoreline was not an accurate reflection of the game between England and Italy on Sunday, but you have still got to give a lot of credit to Eddie Jones’ team.
Without playing out of their skin they have come away with a very comfortable win to continue their perfect start.
Yes, they had a little bit of good fortune – but it is one thing to get those slices of luck and another to make them count so ruthlessly.
Jonathan Joseph will be feeling pretty good about himself this week after a tricky season with Bath who are still yet to find their straps.
He was barely in the game against Scotland but took a few more gambles this week and it certainly paid off with his interception the pivotal moment in the game.
People have been talking about bringing Elliot Daly into the side and Henry Slade’s comeback from injury but those three tries will do a huge amount for his confidence.
Dogged defence
Crucially, before the game opened up a little they still had their noses in front despite a poor first half.
Once again, that was down to their phenomenal defensive effort.
They look to swarm people and that constant pressure makes them very difficult to break down.
A big difference is that they are also making much better decisions around the breakdown in terms of not giving away silly penalties for holding on.
Even when their line has been breached – which has happened in both matches against Scotland and Italy so far – their scrambling defence has come to the rescue on the rare occasion that it is needed.
That gives a team so much confidence, and having found a system that is clearly working for them after not conceding a try in nearly three hours of rugby, you would expect them to get better and better as they perfect it.
Twickenham return
England must now use that momentum from two solid on the road to make the most of back-to-back home games against Ireland and Wales.
Twickenham was not a happy place during the World Cup, and it is important that they banish those memories straight away.
Ireland are in a really tough spot at the moment and are struggling to find a way to win games.
For the last three years, Ireland’s success has been founded on getting ahead and closing games out.
Their victory against England last year was a prime example when they kicked England to death by pinning them back in the right areas of the field after Robbie Henshaw got them on the board.
But they are now going through a transition period after losing some of their leaders.
Only having one point to show for 13-0 and 9-3 leads over Wales and France respectively will have really rocked them so this is the perfect time to play them.
Relentless Roberts
France are the only other team to have enjoyed a perfect start but they will face a much tougher prospect when they take on Wales in Cardiff next Friday night.
Once again, Jamie Roberts was the key man for Warren Gatland’s team against Scotland.
He just goes about his business with an incredible work rate, and that is all down to his level-headed character.
He is a fantastic defensive leader who is able to shut teams down on his own when it comes to his decision-making about when to rush up.
In attack he is such a drain on the opposition because it can take two or three people to bring him down and he is always looking to get back up and go again.
As a 6ft 4in, 17st wrecking ball constantly coming down their channel he is a fly-half’s nightmare – and given England have two in their midfield he will be relishing the prospect of taking them on.
Wooden spoon war
Scotland and Italy have pushed the opposition close in both of their matches so far but once again have nothing to show for it.
Both teams will be desperate to get some points on the board when they meet in Rome next weekend but of the two I would say the game is most important for Scotland.
After such a promising World Cup they desperately need to get some momentum back, and a third defeat on the bounce against historically the worst team in the competition would mean they are in dire trouble again.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly why they are not quite firing but Vern Cotter is a very good coach and he will figure it out – he just needs to stop the rot first.
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