Second place in the Six Nations isn't usually good enough to save England's boss from the sack. Head coach Brian Ashton achieved that last season and was discarded by the Rugby Football Union because his success - which also included reaching the 2007 World Cup Final - fell below what was expected.

Martin Johnson's elevation from former captain to rookie team manager followed and now, 12 months on, England find themselves in exactly the same position in the table, but the RFU power brokers are smiling. Why?

Quite simply, they are mightily relieved that having taken a punt on a man with no coaching experience, they have finished the Championship with three home wins and avoided a repeat of the November Test debacles.

With 16 tries from a Jekyll and Hyde campaign, England have proved they can battle it out with the top teams in Europe and the emergence of full-back Delon Armitage, the incisive running of centre Riki Flutey, fly-half Toby Flood's growing confidence and the line out skills of Nick Kennedy and Tom Croft, allied to Joe Worsley's renaissance in the back row, point to a better future for this England squad.

However, questions still remain on the disciplinary side. The penalty count was still in double figures at the end of Saturday's 26-12 win over Scotland, a match that encapsulated the state of Johnson's team.

We had the seemingly relentless attacking play for much of the first half, which included tries from Ugo Monye and Flutey, and then a second-half meander featuring too many penalties and basic errors.

Johnson has identified fitness as a key area and it is becoming increasingly obvious that the man who captained England to World Cup glory in 2003 is remembering many of the basic elements which made that squad the best in the game.

First, he dealt with the obvious weakness of the training system which saw referees only fleetingly used in practice sessions and brought in top referee Wayne Barnes to read the riot act.

Selection has been a concern, with Johnson intent on sticking with captain Steve Borthwick despite an obvious problem with the role he was being asked to fill when paired with the agile line out skills of Nick Kennedy. Borthwick is not a ball carrier or mauling force, yet had to fulfil these requirements because Johnson ignored Simon Shaw of London Wasps.

When Johnson relented for the final two games, we saw more turnovers from close contact work and Borthwick playing with improved confidence.

Once the forwards had started to avoid giving away penalties and added more power to their driving play, Brian Smith's vision of how England should attack with the ball in hand emerged.

They no longer had to resort to badly executed kick and chase rugby because of slow ball, and men like Armitage and Flutey blossomed.

Yet amid the early yellow-card induced mayhem, only England's defence looked world class and Mike Ford, who devised the system, deserves credit for giving the team a foundation to build from and allied to better discipline, it enabled Smith's attacking plays to be seen.

Johnson has grown into the manager's role and this summer's tour of Argentina will allow him to work with younger players who must become part of the 2011 World Cup squad - and that list is headed by Danny Cipriani.