England make massive step up in Australia victory

In his latest BBC Sport column, England World Cup winner Matt Dawson reflects on an impressive 45-22 win for Steve Borthwick’s side against Australia in the Nations Championship on Sunday.

Beating Australia with their record points tally against the Wallabies was a very positive way for England to start the autumn series, given the break they have had and how the beginning of the year went.

England were very accurate, very disciplined, creative and genuinely did not give Australia a sniff.

Before the game, I was expecting Australia to provide much more of a stern test. Some people might be a bit too critical of Australia, saying they did not turn up, but I think it edges more towards how well England played than how average Australia were.

I am not saying by any stretch that it was the perfect performance but, all in all, it was a massive step up from the Six Nations and even from the Nations Championship games in the summer.

Intensity, accuracy and discipline in abundance

A couple of days before the Australia game, Jamie George said the England team had been galvanised by a newspaper article which claimed the end of their summer tour had been marked by player unrest over head coach Borthwick’s leadership.

When you are inside those international camps, you are very deliberate in staying tight and not letting anybody in in whatever way, shape or form, therefore you become very sensitive to any kind of criticism.

There is a reason for doing that – it draws you together and allows you to create a bit more determination and drive to be successful.

You could see England’s intensity, their accuracy and their discipline. All the things that have maybe been highlighted over the past nine months as things England have been lacking, there was an abundance of all of it.

As much as it is easy to try to pick holes in England because it is England, sometimes you have got to pat people on the back and say they got it right.

The opposition was dangerous with good individual players, but from the off England’s tactics were spot on. Their decision-making was controlled and they looked like a very well-drilled side.

How England might unlock the best of Slade

England’s back three of George Furbank, Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso caused plenty of problems for Australia, but I think you have to include Fin Smith and Henry Slade in that as well.

Potentially, there is something in that backline that may allow us to see the Slade we see for Exeter that we have not seen as much for England.

Having the likes of Feyi-Waboso, Freeman and Furbank around Slade and them understanding the sorts of positions he can get them into – there might be some long-term benefits to that.

Feyi-Waboso is X-factor, there is no question about that. For his early disallowed try, he shifted his weight and beat someone with that pace – I do not think there are many people in the world who could do that.

When you have got players like him who can do that regularly, all of a sudden you are getting momentum.

There was a massive difference in ruck speed and in momentum; England were getting lined up defensively and pushing Australia back, whereas when you have got players like Feyi-Waboso and Ben Earl, and then when Henry Pollock comes on as well, you have got plenty of players who can break the line in traffic and it makes attacking that much easier.

Fin Smith is leading the team, he looks like he is a general and in control of the game.

He has got a safe pair of hands and communication from Seb Atkinson, he has got vision from Slade and then a back three that if you give them half a chance, they are going to bust the line, create opportunities and probably finish.

There were bits of Sunday’s game where if New Zealand were doing it, everybody would be ranting and raving about how complete some of those tries were.

Pollock’s flexibility a fantastic weapon

Feyi-Waboso’s injury meant Pollock came off the bench to play in an unfamiliar position on the wing and he ended up scoring two of England’s seven tries.

He did very well considering he was on for a whole half. Going forward, what is the difference having Pollock there? He has got a winger’s speed, the step, great hands, the power and the bulk that other wingers do not have and he is going to be a handful for the opposition.

Defensively, he was tested a couple of times and that is inevitable, but to have that flexibility on the bench allows England to have that six-two split because you have got a player who can now pretty much cover so many positions.

As great as it was, and I am sure he absolutely loved it, unfortunately he is probably inking himself in to be quite a significant bench player moving forward, which is not really what I think he would like to be labelled as.

Selfishly, from an England point of view, it is a fantastic weapon to have.

The whole bench did really well and made a difference. It goes all the way back to selection, something Borthwick has previously come under fire for a little bit.

It does not mean that just because he has got one right, the autumn is going to go swimmingly well, but from the off the selection has been right, the gameplan was a bit more expansive than I thought it was going to be and they absolutely nailed the execution.

Will England back it up against Japan?

Tactically, I loved the balance of the England performance; a really dominant set-piece, driving mauls and in-your-face defence.

England have maybe always been like that but have lacked the discipline to go with it.

Against Australia, they proved they have the capability to be disciplined and maintain concentration – and I want to see that over the next three weeks.

Can they, under more pressure – because they are going to face more pressure, particularly against New Zealand – still maintain that discipline and decision-making?

They have got the assets to overpower Japan, but can they do it by giving away fewer than 10 penalties? Can they do it by having 15 people on the pitch for 80 minutes?

All of the little things they have been after, can they do them against a team they should beat comfortably?

If they can, then when they go into the New Zealand game with it all to play for and when they are really testing themselves, they are going to have huge momentum.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport’s Phil Cartwright.