England have no need to press the panic button over the problems caused by Thomas Domingo, France’s master scrummager.
Yes, the England scrum did creak a bit and did not go as well as expected, but it was not all doom and gloom, as some have made out.
Domingo’s squat frame of 5ft 8in makes him a hard prop to take on and Dan Cole, who is around 6ft 2in, had a testing afternoon.
VIDEO: Scroll down to watch match highlights...
Trouble: The England scrum wasn't at it's best against France on Saturday SET-PIECE SLUMPEngland are on track for the Grand Slam but no thanks to their set piece. They sit joint bottom with Scotland on scrums, winning only 74 per cent of their put-in, while their line-out is second worst at 81 per cent, in front of only Ireland.
Referee Craig Joubert hardly helped matters, especially in the first half when a succession of scrums ended in either a penalty or free-kick. It was ridiculous and did not help to get the game going.
It looked as if the South African did not want to referee the scrum and chose to penalise both sides for early engagements. It was just a pity that Domingo did not last the whole match as France’s substitute props were not of the same calibre as the Clermont Auvergne loose head. He caused Cole problems by packing down at an angle rather than straight, as the law says props should. Domingo was thus able to slide his body across Cole and push him up.
That’s why he was having so much success because he was not bringing his shoulder square and was popping under Cole and lifting him.
Master scrummager: French prop Thomas Domingo tackles Chris RobshawCole solved the problem in the second half by putting more weight on his outside shoulder to keep Domingo down. It’s almost cheating but it looked to work.
England will be glad they are unlikely to face such problems in the front row against Italy as Andrea lo Cicero is not the player he was.
Italy had a torrid time against Wales up front, where Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones dominated. Who wins the contest in Cardiff when England play there will be a key factor.
By then England should have got their line-out functioning better because it certainly needs attention in training leading up to the game against Italy on Sunday week.
Focus: England's line-out needs attention in training leading up to the Italy game
The biggest concern is how England are not putting pressure on their opponents’ ball. It seems they are trying to be too clever and to cover too many options. England would be better off keeping things simple because the forwards have not played much together compared to their club teams.
Another problem is the throwing of hookers Dylan Hartley and Tom Youngs. Both are good at the bullet throw but struggle when they have to float the ball over opponents. They need to work on it because at the moment it’s heart-in-mouth stuff.
Tom Wood was certainly England’s stand-out forward. He has made the move to No 8 smoothly and looks a better player at international than at club level.
Star: Manu Tuilagi scored England's only try in their 10-point win against France
Stuart Lancaster could make changes for the match against Italy but I think he will be more inclined to give Hartley and Courtney Lawes another opportunity to settle back into the team.
Another factor is the tremendous impact Tom Youngs and James Haskell had when replacing Hartley and Lawes in the second half. For England, that sort of strength in depth is becoming hugely significant.
addCustomPlayer('72erfgnqd9fb1jgkie2jvi8u7', '2FCC3D09B0604930BF7693E2714CA0E', 'bhku5qo2fpx21hilb9ww94sc2', 636, 438, 'perf72erfgnqd9fb1jgkie2jvi8u7-bhku5qo2fpx21hilb9ww94sc2', 'eplayer17');More... Martin Samuel: Lancaster's off-field coaching works a treat as England see the light thanks to the shadows Sir Clive Woodward: Play on the edge, Farrell, but don't go over it Six Nations verdict: Robshaw carries England, Scots defy the stats and Jones treasures the armband
