SIR CLIVE WOODWARD

READ HIS VERDICT FROM TWICKENHAM

THAT was a very patchy performance by England to say the least and Eddie Jones will have plenty to work on at training this week — but the first thing to note is that England won again and we should never underestimate the importance of that.

England still have momentum as they face a really high- octane match against Australia but they will be angry and very self-critical over the coming days when I suspect they will cop some criticism.

It will be a testy camp and as a coach that’s the ideal scenario. I can assure you Australia would have preferred it if England had cruised to a comfortable win yesterday.

For that Aussie match I would make four changes. It’s time for hooker Jamie George to start a big game after 19 caps as a replacement, which means England for the day would need to find a new captain. I would turn to Owen Farrell, who I would pick at 10.

Then I would bring in Maro Itoje f or George Kruis and Harry Williams for Dan Cole in the pack.

Farrell enjoyed a rest yesterday and George Ford, who showed some very nice touches as ever, may profit from a rest as well.

Apart from that I would leave the backs alone. I’m assuming Mike Brown will not be available after his nasty knock and would therefore continue with Anthony Watson at 15.

Meanwhile, let’s not disguise the fact that for long periods England were both disjointed and disappointing against a Pumas team with a limited game plan.

First up in the autumn you can be a bit rusty, but I was hoping for more tempo and intensity. It didn’t seem to happen and I’m not sure why. Perhaps too much expectation and possibly the wet conditions.

The big plus was the strong tackling performance from Sam Underhill. That’s what he was picked t o do and he fulfilled expectations.

Nathan Hughes also enjoyed one of his best games in an England shirt and seemed to pop up in the wide channels with regularity.

Mako Vunipola handled well and Alex Lozowski made an instant impact when he came on but other than that there was not a huge amount to write home about. The first half was acceptable for the first hit-out of the autumn, with England showing good control of the game. But from the start, when they kicked long and didn’ t challenge for the restart, they struggled for tempo.

The exception was when they scored their try, which came after a period of concerted pressure garnished with three high-quality moments. First came Vunipola and his pull-back pass to Ford, at which he is consistently very good. The big man has very good hands.

Then came possibly the game’s champagne moment with Ford, such a natural player going forward, looked up and rolled off a beautifully weighted and angled 28-yard pass left to right which, of course, is the most difficult direction.

And finally big Hughes had stayed back a little — so many players run too flat in support these days — and timed his run nicely to take the ball and show real power and strength to blast through two defenders.

A good, well-structured try and a template of sorts. That apart, the first half was mainly about Underhill’s tackling. Underhill is an old-fashioned tackler, going low at the legs, and as all the old coaches used to tell us, nobody, no matter how big, can run without legs.

In fact, he goes solo won occasions that there is the hint of a chop-no-arms tackle. He may need to watch that.

After the break the game meandered badly until Lozowski pepped things up with his pace, something which marks him out from his dad Rob, who I used to play with and against! Lozowski is an interesting player who doesn’t seem to have settled on a preferred position yet.

He plays a lot at 10 but can clearly go well at centre and I fancy he might make a full-back as well. Fair play to Eddie, he spotted it early and has gone with his hunch.

For me, Henry Slade i s still England’s best bet going forward at 12 if Farrell is moved to 10. He wasn’t great yesterday but that could be said for most of the t eam. He i s quality and will produce if England show faith.