The Martin Corry column

Planet Rugby's exclusive column from former England captain Martin Corry, brought to you by Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge the Video Game

The third edition of Planet Rugby's exclusive column from former England captain and World Cup-winner Martin Corry, brought to you by Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge the Video Game.

Twickenham served up a thrilling encounter between two old rivals on Saturday. In the final analysis, that was a Test match England could have and should have won. I'm not saying England were a better side than Wales, but the home side had cut opportunities to win the game and it is England's fault that they did not seize those chances. Performances like this smack of the 'Plucky Losers' tag and that's not something that should be welcomed in the team environment. It's something Stuart Lancaster and Chris Robshaw need to avoid, and avoid very quickly.

Fundamentally, the issue is one of composure. It's one of belief.

It's true that belief comes from having references points of previous experiences, but sooner or later, if you want to be the best, the youngsters have to create one of those references, and this game was a golden opportunity spurned.

England's decision making was inconsistent; they need to realise when to take contact, when to kick and when to pass. Recall the outstanding Owen Farrell's chip and gather – there was acres of space for him to exploit the first time he did it; the second time, there was clear cover defence and he panicked and did it again, when contact or offload were the better options. The kick is a great tactic against the blitz defence, but variety is key to keep the defence guessing. The Welsh rush at pace and changing the attack forces them to think at speed, which can be a hard ask.

On the plus side, England were superb without the ball; tackle, defence and set piece, bar a couple of early wobbles in the scrum, they will be pleased with the commitment and structure. Geoff Parling added organisation and a high workrate to the line-out and loose and Manu Tuilagi was a monumental presence in the centre. The attacking play will improve as hopefully the core of the midfield are given the chance to mature together. They need to know each others' games.

Wales on the other hand, and worryingly for the rest of the world, showed that rare ability to carve out a win when they were under pressure, although credit must be given to the home side for preventing Wales from hitting their straps. I well recall Wallabies' sides that regularly won on 35 percent possession because of their belief and ability to unlock a game. Great teams have that ability; winning on the back foot, finding the one weakness for the killer blow, and the Welsh showed exactly that scarce quality. They are a class act and, for a back-rower like myself, Sam Warburton's last ditch tackle on the superb Tuilagi was outstanding and typifies the determination they are building. Wales are good and improving fast.

Regarding the disallowed try, the Video Ref can only give what he can see in relation to the question posed by the ref. Did Walsh ask the right question? TMO decisions are to remove howlers; I believe in this instance the correct question was 'is there any reason why I cannot award a try', rather than 'try, yes or no?' We must have greater consistency in the guidelines given to the refs in questions of this type. An adamant David Strettle was 100 percent sure about his score.

In Dublin, Jacques Brunel's Italy will be disappointed to have leaked 12 points in the final five minutes. In truth, the Azzurri were very much second best to a rampant Irish side, which featured a welcome return to form for Lions full-back, Rob Kearney. The Irish are coping with the loss of a few key players well, and Johnny Sexton continues to progress. The Irish 8 comfortably out-muscled the powerful Italians and it's good to see a few of the younger Irishmen starting to make big impacts; notably Healy and Ferris.

Italy will be bitterly disappointed. The captain and management described the last ten minutes as 'surrender' and capitulation, and save for a moment of brilliance by flanker Alexander Zanni to set up the Italian's only try, they will have few positives to move forward with.

France and Scotland produced a game that few expected, but demonstrated just how much Scotland are improving. Sadly, regardless of their performance quality, their won/loss ratio speaks volumes and the frustrations of near-misses must be eroding their spirit in camp. In parts, the Scots took it to the French, hard and direct. The teenage sensation Stuart Hogg menaced all day, and Ross Rennie, Ross Ford and Dave Denton turned in heroic performances in the back and front row. Scotland defended and carried well, but other than Hogg, their attack was too predictable and direct. However, by recent standards this was a try-fest for them and they'll take comfort from that.

France, on the other hand, like a thoroughbred sports car, stuttered, then fired, then stuttered again then finally fired. It was an inconsistent performance with some great moments from Julien Malzieu, Wesley Fofana and the machine that is Theirry Dusautoir. The French always had that other gear, but at times, other than the tight where Nicolas Mas demolished the Scots' scrum, their forward effort was seriously lacking and the introduction of the industrious Julien Bonnaire and Lionel Nallett made a huge impact in the ruck, tackle and maul. There are a few players in the French side that have been known to go missing from time to time and this was one of those days, I am afraid to say.

This weekend, it's the re-arranged Ireland France clash in Paris, and both teams, after almost a month of being together, focused on Test rugby, will be desperate to play in what promises to be a great game. There's a good level of experience in both sides, and collectively, they have an ethos to play good rugby. It's a difficult game to call, but I think France, who will recall 2 or 3 players, will just prove to have too much fire power.

Cheers,

Cozza.

Martin Corry won 64 caps for England – 16 as captain – and was part of the 2003 World Cup-winning side. He also went on two British and Irish Lions tours, earning 7 caps. The former Leicester loose forward was voted the Premiership Player of the Year in 2005 and won five English and two European championship titles with Tigers.

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