Johnson's England shine in spring sun

For forty wonderful minutes yesterday English rugby hit the kind of heights that have been few and far between in recent years.

On a glorious Spring afternoon at Twickenham Martin Johnson’s men produced arguably their best period of rugby since Johnson and his monobrow departed the international scene following England’s World Cup win in 2003.

Yes, England were helped by a shambles of a French performance, and the reality check came even before the final whistle as France edged the scoring in a scrappy second half.

But the men in white showed a ruthlessness and ambition many thought they were incapable of during the opening stages and you could almost feel the swagger returning to the Twickenham crowd as they dived into their first rendition of ‘Swing Low’ shortly after the half hour mark.

Tom Croft took the man of the match accolade for his flawless lineout display and industrious effort in the loose but there were a number of notable performances.

Riki Flutey was devilish in the inside channel with his dancing feet, quick hands and turn of speed, while Delon Armitage showed he has the pace and confidence to mix it with the best of them.

Steve Borthwick also finally provided the kind of domineering performance up front to suggest he could be a worthy successor to Johnson.

While there were many positives to take, one of the remarkable aspects of the win was how England dominated without any real direction coming from the key decision making positions.

Harry Ellis was solid at best and, apart from one delightful inside pass for Mark Cueto in the build up to Flutey’s first try, Toby Flood was hardly a dominant force before going off injured at the break.

Andy Goode was not much better in the second period and next weekend’s game against Scotland could be ideal chance for Johnson to recall the creativity of Danny Cipriani.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer and Johnson will be keen to keep expectations at a reasonable level for his developing side.

But the England fans have been offered a tantalising glimpse of the potential of this team and the only downside to yesterday’s performance is that they will now be wanting more.