Head coach Brian Ashton's demeanour revealed a telling marker of where he thought England were on the recovery scale.
The hype of Jonny Wilkinson's spectacular comeback and a 42-20 win over Scotland were deflated by a spluttering 20-7 win over Italy on Saturday, leaving Ashton to accept the blame for getting his tactics wrong from the start.
Still adjusting to life as head coach, Ashton has had 160 minutes of test rugby to gauge whether the world champions have begun to turn the corner since the dark clouds were lifted from the Andy Robinson era. His verdict was ‘must improve’.
‘I think it's pretty obvious we have a lot of work to do,’ Ashton said after his players were given a thorough examination by a rejuvenated Italy side determined not to be bossed around a rain-soaked Twickenham pitch.
‘We knew we'd have a lot of work to do, I've been saying all along that this is a team that has now played twice together and it needs to play more together to get more familiarity.’
That familiarity will certainly come with time, although England must significantly improve if their first visit to Croke Park to face Ireland in two weeks is not to spell a first defeat for Ashton.
For Ireland, in the best shape of the northern hemisphere sides heading towards the World Cup later this year, are sure to prey on the frailties that a lively Italian pack exposed.
Ashton had feared an Italian backlash after their mauling by France and so it proved.
Ashton: England must improve a lot
