I think that yet again England have just managed to pull the cat out of the fire, France to be honest were hopeless and why their coach saw fit to play the scrum/fly-half only him and the rest of the crazy will people will ever know. I think the way England are playing now in the way they played in the 2007 World Cup and have raised there game to keep a coach they all like, as opposed to getting rid of a coach they didn’t like back then. I am eager to see the summer tour and Autumn internationals before thinking England are on the way back.

Yes, you might be right – perhaps people have hyped up the win against France on Sunday. BUT, perhaps it is just nice to see that the team have won. Yes, it was tight, yes there were some poor decisions made (that Ref needs some coaching or his P45) BUT they are youngsters that have only recently started playing together as a team and as Lancaster has said, ‘it is just the start of the journey’. Give them another 4 years of working together, playing together and getting to know each other and maybe, just maybe, we will have a chance of winning the World Cup on home soil. So rather than criticising and putting down their efforts, how about celebrating success and looking forward with optimism.

Of course England have a long way to go and a true test of the team will be matches against the Southern Hemisphere three. But you cannot change a team overnight SL has done a great job so far with a young team, and do not forget it took Sir Clive 5 years before his team managed to get to consistently beat all they played and get their hands on the Webb Ellis trophy.

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I’d go with the ‘bullied at school’ explanation. Who’s elevating the England squad to anything more than ‘work in progress’? Most intelligent observers would simply see promise and a sea change from the glowering, grim presence of the Johnson/Wells/Ford regime. A change in the attitude of the players and a more positive approach to selection and tactics is good enough for me. The knighthoods can wait until a real achievement such as another World Cup win or frequent domination of Southern Hemisphere nations. In the meanwhile, don’t bother tilting at any more windmills.

Come on Mark, i think you are being a tad hard on this young England side, even on the day up against a crap French side, and a crap half Frog ref, they still had to win the game in the land of girls and wine. In the time S L has had them together he’s at least got their heads right and got them playing for the shirt, and with no one safe in any position he’s got a bit of competition going, that can only be healthy, with the huge pool of players he can pick from. Given time i think they could be molded into a good side, but i do agree the’re not yet the finished product, And as a Welsh observer i will say the same of our boys, not yet a great team but with prospects, We could make it 3 slams in 8 years on Saturday if the French don’t turn up again, but i wouldn’t bet on it, we’re not the All Blacks just yet, as was proved when we were up against Australia, after the world cup, so it’s work in progress for both teams if you ask me, if they stay together i look forward to some great battles at H Q and Cardiff

Mark, I cant really argue to much with what you’ve written. It’s what you’ve omitted I’d take issue with. That is England’s performance vs. a welsh team who should have been world cup finalists and have improved since as well as a victory against more or less the same chaotic french team who possibly deserved (purely on the 80 minutes of the final) to win the world cup. You can only beat what’s in front of you!

The French are just french. One week will ose to Tonga next week will beat some of the best sides in the world. You never know which french team will come out and play

I’ve not seen an over reaction. A bit of restored pride mainly from fans. Cant stop the press going overboard with wins when it sells papers. The best sign that England are on the right path is the increased vitriolic drivel that starts spewing from their detractors. France played ok, not quite as well as the WC final for Rougerie in particular, but probably better than their average performance in the 6 nations. Dont really buy the one day brilliant the next day rubbish French thing anymore. Tonga can be very hard for European nations to beat; ask Wales. France are always up there, a great home record and probably the most consistent top 3 Northern Hem team in recent years. Could have gone either way as with all the top games in this 6 nations, and WC.

What a strange article! Three away wins in the 6 Nations is just that, and winning a game in Paris with a 3-1 try count is rare, whatever the perceived quality of the French team.

The English tries were due – at least in equal measure to French frailties – to English willingness to use turnover ball constructively. The missed tackles on Ben Morgan were partly due to Morgan’s freakish strength on his feet and footballing ability. The Croft try was an exploitation of a Rougerie weakness from previous matches that was already ‘there’…

I didn’t see France dominating England at any point in the game. They looked very comfortable in defence even when reduced to 14 men. Maybe Rolland should’ve giftwrapped France a few more pens than he actually did [11-4 in France’s favour with a dodgy yellow card and misinterpretation of the scrum]!?

I doubt the reaction of the everyday English rugby supporter is as over-the-top as you suggest. The Press, maybe. In any case, it would be good to see whether the pro-Mallett lobby has any more recent supporting evidence to offer up than NM’s impressive winning streak in 1997-1998.

To me, the England team have never really been a team to take opportunities. Take the Welsh game the other week, Wales were a man down and England had a penalty on the welsh 5 yard line. Now personally I’d like to think that any decent international team would choose either a scrum, lineout or even a tap, not just for the excitement for the crowds but also for the reason that is opportunity. Just look at Farrell, yes he is a good, calm place kicker, but he is also a very talented fly half at attacking the game line. They also have all this power and talent in the back line (they claim). Sadly I dont think this will change as it has always been the case. Hence why it took them until the French game to score a try that was created from a charge down.

To that end, I personally don’t believe that England deserve to be where they are in the IRB rankings and the current standings for the six nation, yes i think they deserved the win over France but the Scotland and Italian wins are very debatable.

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It really is so easy to say a team you don’t like don’t deserve it. Must be pommie bating tongue in cheek to get a reaction as well as genuine hatred of an England on the up. Like I said it is really the best indicator England are improving. If England lose to Ire it will stop and they will say England did ok. if they win it will go on a lot more, especially if they win well.

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This post looks even sillier now that NM – in a generous gesture typical of the man – endorsed Lancaster’s achievement as head coach as an analyst on SA tv.

As for the ‘results over process’ comment. Right Process is exactly what SL has made it clear he is trying to put in place, ever since he took over.

Having said that I think it’s true to say that England are some way off challenging the SH consistently. However the foundations have been laid and the bad memories of the World Cup have been effectively banished. An excellent start.

John Maxwell, to start with I dont know who you are either so I have no idea why that would even matter. But to the point I made about the IRB rankings, I think I should have explained it in more detail and say that with England’s recent performances (before Saturday with Ireland) their ranking wasn’t deserved but over time I would say they do deserve it. And then your comment on the RWC 2011 is a sad comment on your behalf and a typical England fans comment. You obviously need to be reminded that England had lost less games because they got knocked out sooner, there for they played less games anyway.

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Sorry Max, thought John was the first name…..Moving on, I wasn’t calling you an England fan, I was using the term because alot of England fans I know kept saying it. But i would love to know how the ranking system works?? Any Ideas????

I know it’s not tournament focused. Purely on track record if you go back more than 5 games England are ahead. Silverware and semis are meaningless I think. It’s just what rank was the team you played, home or away how well you won etc. Wales have not been too good, they reliably lose to all Southern Hem teams so getting 4th spot is unlikely even with grand slam. Got to beat teams above you to go up. When did they last beat a tri nations team?

Regarding world rankings….The IRB World Rankings are calculated using a ‘Points Exchange’ system, in which sides take points off each other based on the match result. Whatever one side gains, the other loses.

The exchanges are based on the match result, the relative strength of each team, and the margin of victory, and there is an allowance for home advantage.

Points difference I think is doubled in a WC. Personally I think this is why there is such a ranking gap between SH and NH, given SH play each other more often. Interesting to see what happens to the Argies ranking after a few seasons in the soon to be quad nations. I think the system does make sense, playing a stronger opposition should help develop their game. Would be interested to see a Argentinian side that can attack and not only disrupt!

Do anyone actually look or care about the rankings? It is flawed.So what your first 4 th or 3rd or 2nd. You go out and lose and your suddenly seconds.

Well Manuka you do not have to buy into it but NZ will disagree with you