If a Martin Johnson side had played like England did he would have been slated; Andy Robinson's Scotland gamble backfired
1 England have a short-term result but it was difficult to see what is the long?term strategy
All week the talk was of long-term strategies. England's interim coach, Stuart Lancaster, would have slept soundly on Saturday night because this was a dogged victory in what was always going to be a difficult match. But he and England's supporters won't be under any illusions because there wasn't a lot to worry their Six Nations rivals. France were not at their best in Paris but they picked up the pace of the tournament.
It was cold at Murrayfield and England and Scotland both spluttered like an old banger on a winter morning for the first 40 minutes. When England did get opportunities we did see them attempt to play a wider game but in the cold light of day it has to be said that the two wings, Chris Ashton and David Strettle, hardly received a pass and Ben Foden only really counterattacked because Dan Parks kicked the ball down his throat.
We never truly saw Lancaster's vision of a second receiver bringing into play the back three. The only glimpses we did get were undermined by a lack of precision. It was a good result for England but I think if they had played like that under Martin Johnson then Johnson would have been castigated and we would still be at a loss to work out what they were trying to do.
2 England's back-row balance wasn't quite right
Chris Robshaw had an effective game as captain and you always know what you're going to get from him but the back-row balance wasn't quite convincing. The back row didn't really slow the ball down effectively. Phil Dowson struggled at the back of the scrum when it was retreating and Ben Morgan was much more effective when he took the No8 role late on. The three back-rowers are effectively six?and?a?halfs and England looked vulnerable defensively, especially when asking both Robshaw and Tom Croft to compete in the air at the lineout. This made it more difficult to get the defensive organisation right around the midfield ruck, with Dan Cole often finding himself the first man around. This was an area that Scotland were able to capitalise on. The lineout was a bit of a problem for England. Geoff Parling's late cameo in the place of Tom Palmer may have been significant.
3 Brad Barritt has cemented his place in the England midfield
England were playing with two new centres for the first time since David Duckham and John Spencer took to the field in 1969. They will almost certainly stick with the same Saracens combination in Rome, not least because Manu Tuilagi and Toby Flood are out of the reckoning for a while. Barritt isn't the fastest centre in the world but he is strong and very good defensively and he makes up for that lack of speed with his speed of thought and he made some telling tackles. England are still looking for a real outside-centre and Owen Farrell, although he played with great maturity, really came into the game more when he played first receiver once Charlie Hodgson had gone off. Charlie struggled to create a wide passing game.
4 Stuart Lancaster deserves credit for changing things at half-time
The win will create a lot of unity in the side and Lancaster does have a Plan B when things are not going well. There were always going to be question marks against his ability to cope when the pressure was on in a big game and England were under pressure at the interval after a dire first half. But the coach was able to able to tinker effectively. Lancaster changed things and England played a much more direct game, with Barritt on the switch ball and Hodgson allowing England's forwards to challenge the gain line quicker around the corner. Farrell became more influential but this was England at their more pragmatic. England have a pretty solid scrum and Dylan Hartley and Cole had good games.
5 There is a big question-mark against Andy Robinson's selection
Andy Robinson's gamble of creating a storm for 40 minutes backfired and this was a woeful display by Scotland. Parks's selection was always going to be controversial and it is impossible to see him playing against Wales next weekend. Only when Greig Laidlaw and Mike Blair came on for the last 20 minutes did Scotland play the kind of high-tempo game they aspire to. Robinson had picked a team to win the Calcutta Cup match, which seems logical but his selections were not. For him to avoid a heap of criticism that is coming his way he needs to harness the youthful exuberance of Edinburgh and Glasgow quickly if Scotland are to score tries and the campaign isn't going to go flat very quickly. Scotland's B team beat the Saxons 35-0 on Friday night and it isn't as if the young talent isn't there.
6 David Denton was a beacon of light in the Edinburgh gloaming
The No8 is 22 on Sunday and he can celebrate an outstanding debut. Denton is usually a No6 and Scotland have a wealth of options here and he wouldn't have been playing at No8 had Kelly Brown been fit but he constantly punctured holes in the England defence and he made a try-saving tackle on Strettle in the second half. Denton worked well with Laidlaw, with Parks's replacement playing a wider game. His was one selection Robinson did get right.
Dean Ryan played for England, Wasps and Newcastle and coached Gloucester in the Premiership
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/feb/04/scotland-england-martin-johnson
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