INTERNATIONAL NEWS: England 39 Pacific Islands 13: ENGLAND WILL have to dig a lot deeper for victory over the next three weeks but the manner of their success over the Pacific Islanders was significant.
The old template of forward domination first and foremost seems to be going the way of the bubble perm and cassette recorders, to be replaced by something altogether more sleek and modern. This latest red rose generation has the potential to break the mould and a tantalising glimpse of the future was visible on Saturday.
The hobbling Wallaby squad which has flown into London ahead of the weekend's Test match may even be wondering if their worst nightmare has dawned: an England team which not only possesses an exciting back line but has every desire to use it. It is not merely a case of adding temporary go-faster stripes to the sweet chariot. In Danny Cipriani and Danny Care, Martin Johnson has two 21-year-old half-backs capable of matching anyone in the world for pace and youthful ambition and the back three of Delon Armitage, Paul Sackey and Ugo Monye are just as quick. Fast forward appears to be the only way ahead. "The English team is changing drastically," said Seilala Mapusua, the visitors' outstanding Samoan centre.
A note of caution must be applied as England, in some key areas, were rather less than frightening. More dynamic opponents than the big but relatively ponderous Islanders pack will wonder, for example, if the back five of this particular England eight is not a shade too lightweight. There must be a chance of Wasps' James Haskell being invited to add some more hard-edged power to the mix against the Wallabies, a team with every reason to be wary of England's frontrow combination.
If anyone has the credentials to stiffen up an England pack, it is surely Johnson. And if he can marry that to the explosive runners available out wide, the next three years will be very interesting.
The debutant fullback, London Irish's Armitage, already looks a promising addition, the length of his kicking complementing his attacking instincts. Australia, however, will kick better than the Islanders and will also have noted the quickest team fielded by England for years looked surprisingly sluggish initially. It may have been due to the damp underfoot conditions or, as Johnson suggested, purely nerves.
"The first 20 minutes of a Test match are normally gone before you know it but it was the other way round," he said. "The message to the guys at half-time was that we hadn't got started. That's a sign of being a little bit unsure and apprehensive."
Johnson, who opted for training top and white thermal vest up in the stands, rather than establishment jacket and tie, also started his Test career with a Twickenham win - a 16-15 victory over France in the 1993 Five Nations - but he is under no illusions that things are about to get tougher for his side. "It'll definitely be a step up in quality, organisation and tempo next week," he said. "Australia are always very well-organised, very smart and astute."
Matt Giteau, for example, will test Cipriani's credentials as a playmaker, the young Wasp having awarded himself a modest mark of five out of 10 here despite a 19-point haul which included the first of what could be many international tries. "A lot of things will have to be tighter," said Cipriani, "and we have to make sure we sharpen up. We're going to have to improve in all areas."
Listening to him, it was almost possible to mistakenly identify Cipriani as the team's captain, rather than the secondrow forward Steve Borthwick. This is a scenario which Clive Woodward, the World Cup-winning head coach, has already proposed. That might be slightly premature but this is no meek youth. While Cipriani dislikes discussing personal errors - Fiji's Seru Rabeni had time to stop and ask for Kelly Brook's phone number prior to charging down the outhalf's delayed clearance for the visitors' only try - he has very firm ideas of what is required from the team as a whole.
"We need to get a pack of forwards which makes opponents think, 'Jeez, that's a strong, physical English pack'," he said. "But we also need a back line with a lot of pace and power which can run different lines and create problems. There's so much potential in this back three. It's for us to work out how to get quicker ball and make sure we're on the front foot when we get it. We want to have an aura about us as a team and we need to create that."
Sackey, whose two tries took him to 10 in 16 Tests, would get into almost any side at the moment. Monye's 50-metre run past Vilimoni Delasau was also a rousing moment and Care grows in assurance by the week. The lock Nick Kennedy will always remember his debut try but he still has to banish the perception he and Borthwick are slightly too similar. Hooker Dylan Hartley's five-minute cameo from the bench, meanwhile, offered yet another clue that times are a-changing.
• Guardian Service
ENGLAND: Armitage; Sackey, Noon, Flutey, Monye; Cipriani, Care; Sheridan, Mears, Stevens, Borthwick, Kennedy, Croft, Rees, Easter. Replacements: Flood for Cipriani (76 mins), Ellis for Care (62 mins), Hartley for Mears (76 mins), Vickery for Stevens (58 mins), Palmer for Kennedy (58 mins), Lipman for Rees (62 mins), Haskell for Easter (68 mins).
PACIFIC ISLANDS: Ratuvou; Tagicakibau, Rabeni, Mapusua, Delasau; Hola, Rauluni; Va'a, Lutui, Johnston, Levi, Leawere, Naevo, Latu, Maka. Replacements: Taione for Rabeni (58 mins), Bai for Hola (48 mins), Martens for Rauluni (72 mins), Koto Vuli for Lutui (68 mins), Pulu for Johnston (58 mins), T-Pole for Levi (62 mins), Stowers for Maka (17 mins).
Sin Bin: Naevo (75 mins).
Referee: George Clancy(IRFU).
