After a win over old foes Wales on Saturday by 13 points surely everything is rosy in the life of an England supporter?

Well not necessarily so, as there were a few stark reminders of the Autumn Internationals and the flaws that have plagued this England team in the past year. Don’t get me wrong, there were some major positives as well and the squad generally looked like they were moving their rugby in the right direction. A very satisfying victory by all means, but if England want to mount a serious challenge for the title this year, then there is still some work that needs to be done within certain aspects of their game.

Their next match is the perfect opportunity to try some new plays in the backs and attempt to plug the leaks in their defensive display of last weekend. Martin Johnson has stuck with the mainstay of his team making only two changes – one in the front row and one in the centre.

Johnson has taken the decision to pick Dan Cole at prop ahead of David Wilson. A brave but sensible decision. The front row struggled against Wales, especially on Wilson’s side of the scrum. This may not have been viewed as such as crisis had Wales’ British Lions hooker Matthew Rees and prop Gethin Jenkins played – but they didn’t and yet an under strength Wales pack dominated this facet of the game from the off. This week England face one of the best front row practitioners of the modern game in Martin Castrogiovanni and this needs to be combated. In Dan Cole, England have a strong scrummager who is also very mobile around the pitch. Cole has proven his worth for Leicester this season and as he trains with the Italian at club level, this may just give England a bit more solidarity up front.

Behind the front row the pack looked solid, Nick Easter carried for a gain consistently, and James Haskell’s two tries spoke for themselves whilst the second row dominated the line out from the outset, stealing countless amount of ball from the Welsh. A special mention has to be reserved for England Captain Steve Borthwick though. He was imperious in the line out and strong at the breakdown, Borthwick’s turnover early in the second half led to the impressive Danny Care crossing the whitewash for England’s second try. The England skipper managed the lineout supremely well, making a mockery of Wales’ in the process and his decisions as captain proved rewarding at crucial times for England. It was a performance that will go part of the way in proving his doubters wrong – myself included!

Behind the scrum, the shackles were let off the pragmatic Danny Care. It was a pleasurable sight to observe the little scrum half instigate quick tap penalties and produce darting breaks around the fringes. However, Care’s passing was not the quickest and at times very wayward. A few sessions of passing practice this week would certainly not go amiss for the Harlequins number 9. His relationship with Jonny Wilkinson at fly half was undoubtedly better than that in the autumn but Wilkinson still sat very deep when receiving the ball. This could well be put down to the lack of a sizeable inside centre outside of him and leads me to Martin Johnson’s only other selective change.

Riki Flutey was absent from the Wales game due to a thigh injury but the Kiwi born centre will be a very welcome addition to the England midfield come Valentine’s day in Rome. Having a proven ball carrier such as Flutey on the shoulder of Wilkinson may give the fly half the confidence to play further up the field and vary the attack. Flutey does not only increase the attacking options for England but also shores up what was a very suspect defence last Saturday.

The lack of size and organisation in the centres for England was exposed by the powerful running of Jamie Roberts and the more elusive James Hook. Italy likes to attack this area of the pitch and will certainly be targeting this as a weakness in the England camp. Mirco Bergamasco or Kaine Robertson coming off their respective wings and hitting flat ball at pace off fly half Craig Gower is a ploy that is persistently used by Nick Mallet’s men and if England defend the way they did against Wales then rewards may well be reaped in the Stadio Flaminio for the home team. Flutey is the defensive manager in the England midfield and he will be a very welcome addition to the England midfield.

The back three must have been an area that Johnson considered tinkering with. It was a big surprise that the only person left on the England bench against Wales was Ben Foden. Delon Armitage looked decidedly unsure under the high ball at full back and never really attacked with great purpose. The back three looked very one dimensional with ball in hand and never once looked to change the focus of attack. Foden offers this ability in spades with an eye for a gap and a very elusive running style which creates openings for others. I think that we will see the Northampton full back make an appearance in Rome and let’s hope he makes his mark leaving Johnson considering his options when Ireland arrive at Twickenham on the 27th February.

Johnson is right in making these changes but more importantly he has shown faith in a team that showed more resilience than attacking prowess in their first match of the tournament. The game against Italy will give us a good indication of where this squad is heading under the tutelage of Martin Johnson. I just hope it is in the right direction and more importantly that the result is one of a positive nature to consolidate their position as contenders for the crown.

Andrew Daniel writes for The Rugby Blog