Those who are pointedly critical of this year's England model are attracting a fair amount of flak. The doubters point out that England may have won two away games but that the opposition was the tournament's second tier.

It has taken Scotland 380 minutes to score a try and Italy has finished last in nine of the previous Six Nations, never beating some pretty average England teams in the process. These are not mealy mouthed negatives but facts.

Robshaw:Skipper (centre) led England to victory

Understandably plenty of people want to wish England into a place they are not playing. Credit to them and the impressive leadership of Chris Robshaw for toughing out wins against the two Six Nations teams that failed to even make the quarter finals of the World Cup but defeat was a distinct possibility in both games.

Let's just hypothesise a moment; Charlie Hodgson does not charge down a kick in each game and England are a win and a draw after two games. The detractors would not be in a minority then. Of course, history is not there for the rewriting but I want to force us to think of our response to the QUALITY of the performance and not merely the results that were both in the balance.

Once you do that we are left with little more than commitment and spirit from a young team. That is all well and good but it is not as if no other team has a surplus of pride in playing for their country. Wales will not arrive at Twickenham in an indifferent mood in little under a fortnight.

Defence under attack

The defence has been questionable at times, especially against Scotland who made several line breaks that should have resulted in tries.

Their own ineptitude rather than English scrambling saved the day. Wales were far from their best, especially at the breakdown without Sam Warburton but they have revealed a consistent ability to take their chances.

Attack has been an inside ball, a scissors with Brad Barritt and lofted cross kicks. Two tries from two charge downs says it all. Again, this is not some miserable savaging of England but a simple truth. Stuart Lancaster's team are exceptionally determined but there is nothing happening to bring a single convert to the sport. If England's first two Six Nations games were your introduction to the sport would you honestly drop football, cricket or national hunt horse racing...would you, honestly?

So, let's cut some slack and say these are the first days of the new regime. All right, we will judge them on the strength of the next three games. If they lose them will the supporters who support because this is not the last regime maintain their voice or will the nation descend to the criticism which a few of us are voicing at the moment?

The current critical view is that the way England is playing is most unlikely to see them beat the top tier nations. It will take improvement to achieve that; improvement, variety and more bravery in attempting to win quick ball. For all the freshness of faces there remain many similarities between the way England played under Martin Johnson and the way they are playing under Lancaster.

One win and two defeats with a certain quality of play above what we have seen so far would be a decent return even though England are standing top of the pile, two from two. It is not a miracle but development I am looking for. For all the cheer of the first two wins that is not yet on the horizon.

Dragons' roar

Wales are also two from two but were second best in terms of possession for much of Sunday's game against Scotland. But rugby is not about possession it is a matter of points and Wales took advantage of Scotland's period when it had players in the sin bin to rattle a quick 24 match winning tally.

They will be favourites on the strength of their finishing at Twickenham but England - at home - is not without hope. My hope is that, win or lose we see something to convince us that bad things are not awaiting the team when they travel to South Africa. At the moment the Springboks would hammer Lancaster's team. Development in many aspects of the game are required and quickly.

Fans frozen out

England's win was not a thing of beauty but at least we had a game in Rome. The farcical situation in Paris needs careful consideration. The sport is not cast in a good light when 80,000 people pack a ground late on a Saturday night and are informed minutes before kick off the game is cancelled because of a frozen pitch.

If France want 9pm kick offs, the Six Nations committee has to guarantee that the game will not be threatened. Cold Februaries in France are not as unheard of as snowfall in Rome (my taxi driver to the airport Sunday claimed it was Rome's first snow since 1985). Between the tournament administrators and the French Union a massive slip has been made, leaving Dave Pearson having to make a major decision involving misery for a lot of people who had paid plenty of money for match tickets.

Away from the international game I have yet to see the Premiership matches but Exeter's double was worth noting as was the irony of Newcastle winning a bonus point in defeat at Bath but conceding four tries in their first Premiership match with err, Mike Ford and John Wells involved. This sport delivers its twists just when it all seems ever so slightly predictable. That's why we love it but my concern is to get newcomers involved and in love and that's a reason for us all to hope for something a little more dashing at Twickenham, the weekend after next.

We are at Bath for the derby match with Gloucester; that should be exciting with both teams finding their attacking range; the next day it is Saracens against Leicester - the teams that have played out the last two finals; with Leicester having leaked 50 points against Saracens at Welford Road earlier this season and Exeter having beaten them on Saturday, it will be - at the very least - intriguing.

Saracens are profoundly tough to beat but not finding it easy to win adoration or new fans...which bring us back to where this column started.

Stuart answers your emails...

Got a question for Stuart? Email him at skysportsclub@bskyb.com or use the feedback form below...

Miller time?

What is your view on Sale's Rob Miller? He has been on my horizon for a number of years. I played with and against his father when his father was finishing and I was starting. I liked him as a 10 for England U20's and this season at wing or 15 he has been brilliant. He is in the top three in the league for; tries metres (843) defenders beaten and clean breaks. And yet he does not make either of the England squads. Why is this do you think?Barry Bunn

STUART REPLIES: Barry, Rob Miller has had a fine season but if we start selecting squads in stats alone we are in more of a mess than we have been for some years; and, selectorially that has been quite some mess. He's a good player but not ready for international rugby yet. He has to keep playing and improving.

Man of Steel

Hi Stuart, Owen Farrell is a very good kicker but he contributes nothing offensively. I think he should be replaced by Olly Barkley who plays with his head up, can open up defences and can kick as well. What do you think about this? Thanks. Mick Collyer

STUART REPLIES: Mick, Farrell kicked with incredible nerve in Rome. England would have lost without him and I would not rely on Olly Barkley or any other current kicker to do as he did. He will stay for that reason. I have some scepticism regarding the rest of his game but have to give him the major benefit of doubt. He is hardly alone in not creating any attacking impression, now is he? If we drop every English player with a limited offensive contribution Stuart Lancaster will have to start with a clean sheet of paper!

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