From the outside in

16th February 2012

Looking from the outside in, is not somethingI’m used to. The world I’m living in right now is a long way away from Murrayfield , and day to day all my energy is focused on my training and makingsure I’m in perfect form for Ricoh and then my move across to the Super 15in just a few weeks.

But going from the heart of the England set-up to this other rugby world has given me a real sense of perspective. There’s been so much commentary that I sifted through on the web ahead of the Calcutta Cup speculating about how the new England will play. But anyone who knows the lads can tell you that they had one objective when they headed up north and that was to come back with a win.

Doing that will buy them the time they need tobuild a new style, to settle together and work out the plays that will unlock defences.

Whatever team Stuart Lancaster had picked would have had my money to get the result because I know how much talent there is in the whole set up. I've played with a lot of the lads many many times,including Robbo at Under-19 and Under-21s. It's great to see him getting the recognition he deserves and in many ways it was the perfect start for him. As a captain it’s always great to get into a scrap where you can show your commitment and willingness to put your body on the line, which is exactly what the Scots provided.

For sure the guys will have been trying things on the training ground that didn’t quite come off in the match, but no one should underestimate how difficult it is to translate a game plan into a match situation against an opposition who are unpredictable and determined not to let you settle.

Winning in top level rugby is a pretty special thing and to be taken at every opportunity - I was talking to Ma’a Nonu about it the other day: for him playing and winning with the All Blacks is a normal state of affairs, his record is something like 63 caps and 59 wins. So when they do lose it's like the world ends, and the public let them know it. That record compared to players in the northern hemisphere is incomprehensible. So when people talk about performance versus winning a game. I don't care what anyone else says, it's winning every time for me.

However you can’t rely on scrapping through every time. One game Richie Gray or Ross Rennie is going to get that pass away,or X an Y will make his kicks from seemingly impossible positions. So over the long term you need to start opening up those margins. But in the first place winning is the platform you can push on from.

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And that’s what England will do against Italy.They’ll be working on running the right lines, on ball retention and onsettling down. All those things will be easier next time because of the experience and confidence won battling it out at Murrayfield. While the media are sure to get carried away and expect a stroll in the park against the Azzurri, no one in the England camp will be making that mistake.

England will need to be every bit as aggressive because the Italians are expert in making things difficult, comingin from the side, not rolling away, frustrating you. Then when they have the ball, they have guys who can score tries.

The lesson from the World Cup when some of our team were over-eager to get at the ball was that international rugby requires patience; you need to trust in those around you and only try the big moves when the opportunity is there. Judging by what happened at the weekend, it looks like the players have learnt that but I hope that everyone around the game will appreciate that too and allow the new side the time to build. The fireworks can come when the time is right.