The FIRST hint of a wintry chill was discernible at Twickenham at the weekend and England duly reacted like Olympic skiers sampling a nursery slope in the Dolomites. Gliding past an alarmingly wobbly Italian side is one thing, of course, but there was a crispness about their technique which can only improve their chances against the All Blacks.
In scoring eight tries, five of them in the second-half, England did such a clinically professional job that they might have been New Zealanders masquerading in white jerseys. They started menacingly, did the basics well and then let rip at a time when many of their predecessors would have sat back and counted their winnings. Only a hamstring twinge suffered by the centre Will Greenwood marred a near perfect launch to a World Cup.
With Jeremy Guscott, who was recently sidelined by groin trouble, looking a touch rusty, the midfield blend is the only area where Clive Woodward, ironically a world-class centre in his own playing days, might wish to tinker with the formula.
Woodward chose a benign postmatch press conference to toss a brick or two at those pundits critical of England's preparations, while conveniently ignoring the real villains who failed to ensure the Premiership All-Star warmups were as meaningful as they should have been.
Where Woodward is spot on, though, is in his praise of the backroom staff he has so painstakingly assembled; John Mitchell, Brian Ashton and Phil Larder, plus the various fitness and video advisers, have spent almost every week since June fashioning a bold, new England and the fine-tuning is ever more apparent.
"Behind the scenes we've got an excellent group of coaches who have been with the players now for two or three months," said Woodward. "It has allowed us to be technically a lot more efficient because we've done a lot more training together and that has allowed us to play with a lot more fluency. Normally we're just not together enough to have a chance of getting right all these bits and pieces which make international rugby so much easier. We're trying to play the game a certain way and it came off today." For Jonny Wilkinson, whose 32 points was the highest individual match tally by an Englishman in Test rugby, there was even a first international try, rounding off a kick-and-chase by the conspicuously-sharp Austin Healey, to add to another goalkicking masterclass. Matt Dawson, who bounced through three tacklers for a score which set the tone early on, was equally assured and the pack contained few discernible weak links. Only Dawson's intercepted pass which allowed Diego Dominguez to beetle over for a converted try, which lifted him into third position in the all-time Test scoring charts behind Michael Lynagh and Neil Jenkins, prevented a total Italian wipe-out.
With a referee clearly suspicious of visiting gamesmanship before he took the field, the Azzurri were a downcast bunch long before the end. "Playing in Twickenham is not the same as playing in Huddersfield," admitted Massimo Giovanelli, the captain, referring to the much narrower scoreline in last November's qualifier. "If you give them the space to run, it's very difficult to stop them." Yellow cards for Giovanelli, Alessandro Moscardi and Luca Martin, plus the early loss of a dazed Matt Pini and the flanker Mauro Bergamasco, with damaged ribs, also contributed to a miserable day for the Italian coach Massimo Mascioletti. England, though, have only one team - and colour - on their minds.
"It'll be a step up or two against the All Blacks next week," said Martin Johnson. "The anticipation will build the guys up and whatever happens next week it'll be a massive Test match." New Zealand's defeat by the Wallabies in the Tri-Nations tournament, he insisted, is a red herring. "New Zealand had already won the Tri-Nations. I thought the Australian defence was fantastic on the day. It didn't really prove anything to us. They were just beaten on the day by a team who were desperate to win."
Like a white stretch limo with smoked-glass windows, England are cruising nicely towards their destination without any need, as yet, to share all their secrets with those outside. Another five and a half hours of similar application to Saturday's and they will reckon on a place in the final; where, of course, they might just meet those men in black again.
SCORERS: England: Tries: Dawson, Hill, De Glanville, Perry, Wilkinson, Luger, Back, Corry. Conversions: Wilkinson 6. Penalties: Wilkinson 5. ITALY: Try: Dominguez. Conversion: Dominguez.
ENGLAND: Perry, Luger, Greenwood, De Glanville, Healey, Wilkinson, Dawson, Dallaglio, Back, Hill, Grewcock, Johnson, Vickery, Cockerill, Leonard. Replacements: Beal for Perry (78), Guscott for Greenwood (35), Corry for Grewcock (78), Garforth for Vickery (66), Rowntree for Leonard (66), Greening for Cockerill (57). Replacements not used: Grayson.
ITALY: Pini, Vacarri, Stoica, Martin, Zisti, Dominguez, Troncon, Arancio, Bergamasco, Giovannelli, Giacheri, Cristofoletto, ProperziCurti, Moscardi, Pucciarelo. Replacements: Mazzucato for Pini (21), Mazzariol for Dominguez (77), de Rossi for Bergamasco (19), Checchinato for Cristofoletto (56). Replacements not used: Mazzi, Castellani, Moretti.
Referee: A Watson (South Africa).
