England's best policy is to go on the attack

Now this may seem a sacrilegious view from a fully paid-up member of the front row union but while the scrum can still give you a psychological edge, the game has moved on and you have to ask the question: how are we going to get into the position to make a five-metre scrum a major weapon?

We have to play attacking and exciting rugby because we are not going to beat this Australian side by just pushing them off their scrum ball.

Of course, you can still win Test matches by dominating the scrum battle but will it win you the World Cup? That is very debatable.

We got sucked into trying to destroy the Australian scrum when we won the 2003 World Cup Final in Sydney. We tried to bludgeon them every time and it worked against us because the referee and the England players didn't see eye to eye with this tactic and it saw him awarding a series of penalties against us.

While the Wallaby scrum did have trouble in Cardiff last weekend, their line-out was functioning and David Pocock, their outstanding open-side flanker, was everywhere, stealing the ball at breakdowns.

Add to those elements a very dangerous back division and it is clear why we cannot concentrate on just one area this weekend.

The endless kicking that disfigured the game last season has largely disappeared with referees now making it more rewarding for teams to keep the ball in hand and Saturday's clash at Twickenham against the All Blacks was a million miles away from the fare served up 12 months ago when the same teams met. Back three players — full-back and the wings — now return the ball up field rather than just take part in aerial ping pong and the game is much better for this change.

There were mixed feelings after the final whistle where the best team in the world won against an England side that are still on a journey of recovery.

I was disappointed that England were beaten and frustrated that we got so close to pulling off a famous win because they lost the focus, concentration and execution necessary at crucial stages in the game. But, any England supporter would be much happier now than compared to a year ago when we were beaten 19-6 by the All Blacks.

However, this current side are a very different group. They are talented youngsters who are being given a chance to impress and there are clear signs of a recovery happening.

My only concern going into the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand next year is that the tournament may come six to nine months too early for England. There was never going to be a quick fix, however, we can now see real signs of improvement and they can compete with the best teams in the world.

While you would never say never in terms of England getting into a position where they can reach a peak for the World Cup next year, if you were a gambler the odds are against it happening.

Team manager Martin Johnson should stick with his squad because they exposed a number of frailties in the All Blacks' performance; they made unforced errors, one of which was Dan Carter putting a restart out on the full and there were also missed tackles as England really went at the opposition in that second half.

It proved that when England play in the faces of the opposition, get their tactics right, match the opposition physically and don't go into their shell, they are as good as anyone.

In the final quarter, it was all hands to the pump for New Zealand because they were in real danger and I thought Nick Easter was magnificent in the way he took the game to the All Blacks. Dylan Hartley came on for Steve Thompson — who still has a lot to offer England — and caused problems and seems to have matured into a fine player.

Australia showed their try-scoring power beating the All Blacks in Hong Kong and confirmed their attacking potential and class in Saturday's win against Wales. They are a real force to be reckoned with and score tries against the best defences.

Twickenham, as our results show, is no longer a fortress for England and the Australian youngsters won't have a problem turning up on Saturday and producing their attacking rugby.

However, we also have a group of very good young guns who want to make their own mark as they did by beating Australia in Sydney in June. Now we want them to repeat that on home soil.