As we build up towards the Rugby Union World Cup in 2015, the progress of Stuart Lancaster's developing England team is becoming more significant. After the last 6-Nations' tournament, when they were roundly slaughtered by Wales, England suddenly realised that they were not, perhaps, developing as quickly as they'd believed; a summer tour of Argentina restored some belief but the real measure had to be the autumn series.
Yesterday, that autumn series got under way with the Australians visiting Twickenham. After a stuttering first half in which Owen Farrell managed to miss 3 penalty kicks and England failed to make any real impression on the visitors, the half-time score of 6-13 looked pretty gloomy. However, the second half produced a much more coherent performance from the home side with 2 converted tries and eventual victory by 20-13.
Although this was a decent result and, in the end, a strong performance at least from the forwards, no one should be carried away. Australia have not been a great power this year; although they haven't exactly played badly, their results have been disappointing, so an English victory cannot be seen as a pointer to World Cup success - yet. Next week, they take on Argentina and the week after that it's the real test, against New Zealand. The 'All Blacks' are undoubtedly the best team around at the moment and how well we do against them will tell us much more than did yesterday's match. Let's hope we at least give them a run for their money.
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