LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'Pollock may have got the headlines, but Pepper should get plenty of kudos himself.'

England Mk II got off the grid well, rarely purring but first past the chequered flag. Hybrid England is all very well, the glossy sell about modern machines, interchangeable parts, flankers to wings, boosted benches but test rugby is still about one thing above all else – getting ahead of the other lot on the scoreboard. England got the job done and all the future talk of Henry Pollock playing here, there and everywhere, of forwards as backs and backs as forwards, it’s not much more than tinkering late night thoughts in a coach’s head. Why can’t they just have nightmares like the rest of us? Steve Borthwick is right to consider permutations, to cover as many bases as he can, for few clear-headed plans survive the first punch in the face as Tadhg Beirne’s highly-debatable (20 minute) red card in Chicago illustrated. You have to adapt, you have to have other plans. The essence, though, is still all about solidity up-front, control at half-back and deadly strikes out wide.

England didn’t need to meddle too much with their on-field line-up. Just a straightforward Bomb Squad-type arrival of the cavalry around the 50 minute mark. Ben Earl had already shown us that he is a wing-like speedster with Sam Underhill also demonstrating that passing quickly to a bloke with more gas is the dog’s bollocks of an option on a rugby field. If only Tommy Freeman realised that, more of which anon. Henry Pollock showed why he is one of the compelling figures of the modern era – a pest, a narcissist, a showman, a can’t-wait-to-punch-him-in-the-face irritant – and richly talented. He was Serge Blancoesque in the languid manner in which he one-handedly scooped up the ball and headed to the try-line. Big ticks for him and for Earl for their putative lives in the back line.

But for all the modern faddery about hybrid this, that and the other, the game hasn’t changed. Or not that much. The set-piece needs to be on the money: fierce and unrelenting. The back-row ideally needs a big bugger at 6, a fetcher and carrier and jackaller at 7 and a multi-dimensional type at no.8. Andy Ripley had the pace of an Earl all those years ago, Zinzan all the individual skills while from Roger Uttley onwards through Mike Teague and Richard Hill, England have had someone performing the unselfish, unstinting role that Guy Pepper did on Saturday. Peroxide blond Pollock may have got the headlines, Pepper should have plenty of kudos himself.

Let’s not get carried away although do let us acknowledge the merit of a very decent opening weekend victory with minimal preparation.

Here’s the point. England were up to the task on Saturday and that is no small achievement Just ask England’s rugby league counterparts how many arms they’d be willing to chew off to be in such a position. And it was a handsome margin of victory, too. Four constructed tries against one intercept. That’s all grist to the mill. Of course there are notable challenges still to come. If England do to New Zealand and Argentina in particular what they did to the Wallabies then they can head into the 2027 World Cup draw on December 3 in a happy place.

But it’s only right to dampen down some of the fluff and froth that has surrounded the occasion, notably the thought that England are somehow re-inventing the wheel with their hybrid outlook. There was also a curious pre-match remark on TNT Sports by Austin Healey – full disclosure, I think Healey is a bloody good pundit – along the lines that George Ford is setting some sort of gold standard for how he is running the game. The piece didn’t go into that much detail, just a few clips about drawing defenders and putting his guys over. Isn’t that what all good fly-halves have ever done, from Jackie Kyle to Barry and Benny to Michael Lynagh who was kick-passing to Campo decades ago? So, there you go – be wary of hyperbole. Let’s not get carried away although do let us acknowledge the merit of a very decent opening weekend victory with minimal preparation.

Bank that and move on. There is plenty to work on. England gave away too many penalties (13) against a team that rarely managed to put them under the cosh. They lost too much ball also to the master of the breakdown that is Fraser McReight. They can’t afford such slipshod showings. The All Blacks will crucify them if they hand over so much possession, Fiji too to be fair. Saturday’s game is no routine fixture. England have been scorched for that attitude before.

England didn’t flow in attack even though they did finish with a decent haul of tries. Much of that is down to the accomplished kicking game of their half-backs and the soaring chases of Sale wing, Tom Roebuck. It comes to something when Joseph Sualli’i is kept quiet by comparison. Roebuck was only there, of course, because Freeman had been switched to outside centre. Now what? Freeman didn’t have his finest game as an attacker, ignoring the dangerous-looking Immanual Feyi-Waboso, at one point and holding on too often. Perhaps Sam Underhill should have a word. The defence, though, was on point.

Borthwick has no need to change for change’s sake. There will be a temptation to maybe consider switching up the Bomb Squad resources in order to keep everyone fresh for the four week period. It should be resisted.

The Northampton combo in midfield did not flourish. Fine a player as Fraser Dingwall is, England need more punch in that area, be it Ollie Lawrence at 12, which is not his preferred or best position, or a reversion for Freeman to the wing and Lawrence looking to do the business in the outside channel.

Borthwick has no need to change for change’s sake. There will be a temptation to maybe consider switching up the Bomb Squad resources in order to keep everyone fresh for the four week period. It should be resisted. The replacements did well, Luke Cowan- Dickie and Ellis Genge and their pals in the posse but coming on to the field to make an impact is not a easy skill to master. They, too, need to rehearse getting into the mood as subs.

Pollock’s time as a starter can wait. The 20 year-old seems to relish to the revved-up limelight of being primed to make an appearance. Good luck to him. The Grumpies may hate him for it. The Instas love him. The fact is that Pollock tends to the nuts n’bolts as much as he does to the grandstanding interventions. Without the graft, he’s a mere show-pony and would soon be put out to pasture.

A year ago, England were on the wrong side of results. Now, they are well-placed to make sure that the scoreboard stays in their favour right across the autumn.