Time to put foot down and let the turbo kick in

Paul Rees looks back on England's performances so far and says they should take the hand brake off and race ahead

- Paul Rees

WIN or lose, England's report card tends to read should do better. After almost a year of near misses when their capacity to turn a winning position into defeat seemed to grow with each match, one-point victories over France and Scotland have been greeted with no more enthusiasm than a tax demand.

So much for the results business. Yet go back a few months when the defeat to New Zealand, after a late penalty by George Ford hit a post before his drop goal attempt drifted wide, was followed by Australia sneaking home after a bungled restart and then defeat to South Africa who rallied after a shaky start and Steve Borthwick, below, was picking his strongest side to take on a Japan side that were 13th in the world rankings.

It was an indication of the pressure he felt under and, after fading badly in the second half against Ireland on the opening weekend of the Six Nations, it became less about performances and more about results. Marcus Smith was shifted from outside-half to full-back and Fin Smith promoted from the bench to pilot the side.

In both matches, England kicked more and passed and ran less than their opponents, markedly so. They won both by a point, scoring four tries to three against France but only one to Scotland's three, yet it seems odd that some of those who were advocating the change at outside-half are chundering at England's kicking and territory strategy. Marcus Smith remains England's attacking outlet, but at full-back his impact is limited, more reliant on stray kicks than passes along the backline. As England tended to kick against Scotland if they got nowhere after a couple of phases, he had few chances to fill in at first receiver.