Why England's loss was good for them

What if the referee had not gone to the video ref with Ben Cohen's try and had awarded it? Or Mark Regan had just stayed out of touch? England might have sneaked a victory that they did not really deserve, the unbeaten record would have survived and all would have been well in the garden of Twickenham.

Thus disguising the fact that England's performances this year have been absolutely shocking.

Lawrence Dallaglio's captaincy was MIA when trouble showed up, Joe Worsley remained under the delusion that Richard Hill did not need any help, Steve Thompson's line-out throwing folded under pressure, Iain Balshaw's inability to time a pass to set up an overlap showed through again and the presence of Jason Robinson in the centre disrupts the entire backline. There is no bite in the England pack and there is no organisation in the backs. Martin Johnson is gone and England will have to learn to live without him.

This defeat was just what England needed, something to show Sir Clive Woodward and the players that they cannot coast on their own momentum. Changes need to be made, because England simply weren't good enough. At the risk of sounding like John Major, England have to go back to basics.

The major problem against Ireland was a lack of mongrel in the pack, something the English supporters have long mocked the Kiwi front five for. Ben Kay's form has dipped considerably since Johnson's retirement and his poor choice of line-out calls must take some responsibility for the debacle at the breakdown. A second row combination of Simon Shaw and Danny Grewcock may add much-needed muscle to the team, as both of them are prodigious scrappers.

The forward play in the loose must also be examined carefully. No-one seems willing to carry the ball close to the rucks. A major tenet of England's play is to pick and drive, sucking in men before whipping it out wide. This was notably absent on Saturday; England very rarely went past two phases of play. The back row was largely poor, with little support and no carrying. Without Hill, it is doubtful England would have gained any ball at all. Dropping Neil Back is all very well, but when there is no-one ready to replace him, Woodward's decision looks a bit precipitous. Lewis Moody is the only man capable of snapping at Back's heels and injuries have kept him away from England.

Captaincy is another issue that must be examined. After Girvan Dempsey's try, England lined up behind the posts and waited for the conversion. Dallaglio was silent. You cannot help feeling that if Johnson was there, then he would have gathered the team into a huddle and given them a talking-to. Times of crisis are not when you want your captain to be silent. Despite the about-turn this would be, Neil Back seems to be the ready-made substitute for Johnson, with his proven ability to gather the team together when trouble hits.

England's backline has been infused with the much-vaunted back-four formation, with Jason Robinson, Josh Lewsey, Iain Balshaw and Ben Cohen allegedly interchanging at will and proving impossible to mark. Unfortunately it seems impossible to organise too. Against Ireland, there was no backline, just a collection of players waiting to work individually. The one time the backline actually formed, Cohen nearly scored. It is time to accept that the experiment of putting Robinson in the centre, just like the experiment with Hodgson, has failed. Robinson is a very talented player and his ability to break may paper over the cracks, but his presence at centre disorders England's back-play. Lewsey is a very talented fullback, Cohen is a very talented wing, Robinson is a very talented wing and Balshaw is a very talented club player. Let them stay where they are.

The game against Wales will be a turning point for this England side. Do they take the easy road, continuing down their current path and blithely hoping that it will turn out all right? Or do they take the harder road and admit that their strategies and selections were wrong and that change is necessary? This defeat forces them to take a long, hard look at themselves. The opportunity for change is there.

England were beaten by a better team on Saturday. I hope that will spur them onto better things, so that I will never have to say that again.