Our boys will give Martin their all

Martin would not let you face anything on your own and standing shoulder to shoulder with his team-mates is second nature to him.

As a player this was a crucial part of his make-up and he expects the same from you and that will still be the case now that he is the England manager.

When you are a good and honest man like Martin, you live your life by principles; don't lie, cheat or let your mates down. He doesn't have an ego and has time for everyone and that's why people will walk over broken glass for the man. I was prepared to do that and the players will feel the same.

Of course, there is another side to Martin and while he would join you at the gates of Hell, he would also be delighted to join you at the front door of your local on pub quiz night. He is a serious anorak when it comes to facts and figures about sport and he has the same encyclopaedic knowledge of rugby.

I am a little bit surprised at the expectation surrounding Martin going into this match with the Pacific Islanders. Do I think he is the right man for the job? Yes. Do I think he has come in at the right time? Yes. He has time to build a squad to go forward to the next World Cup in New Zealand but there is no instant success and we all need to have a bit of patience.

The last successful England team manager was Sir Clive Woodward and it took him the best part of a year before success was generated and there were plenty of bumps along the way.

Martin has all the attributes to be a great manager. The one reason above all that will mean he is going to be a success is that he is honest.

There are no grey areas and if he thinks you are good enough then he tells you. There are no mind games and the players respect him already because of who he is.

Martin is different to many of the previous managers and coaches in that he believes it's players who win matches - not the coaching staff. They can win all of these four autumn internationals and because there isn't any ego with him, he will give the plaudits to the players.

But if England have a disastrous run in these four November Tests, then he won't blame the players and will take all the flak himself. That is a refreshing change.

The Islanders are a very powerful outfit and Martin will drum this into the players, along with the rest of his coaching staff. This will not be a pushover because the Islanders are hugely physical and can throw the ball around expertly.

England have to stand toe to toe with these big men.