Yes, yes, yes...I know it is time for the autumn internationals but we are not going to focus on these fixtures until a couple of mentions of Premiership clubs have been made; firstly, Saracens. Seven wins out of seven and all of us in the media (all of us, index finger pointed at my head as I pause from typing Fez Heads) can hardly bother to mention the best start to a Premiership season since Newcastle won the title back in the days when sideburns and shorts with cords were in vogue.

They have not secured a single winning bonus point in this winning run which explains why the reviews are anything but rave ones and there is some truth in the fact that Saracens' lofty position is something of an indictment on this season's quality of rugby, as Warren Gatland asserted last week. But hold on...who thought Saracens were anything other than a middling to struggling team?

Martin Johnson: What are England's objectives?

My mate Will Greenwood did (but before he gloats he had Gloucester as top dogs - and I had Bath fourth...hmm. Dewi had them down for third, I think, that's the only consolation for that call....but early days).

I think I tipped Saracens for ninth - maybe tenth - I didn't see this coming and I, like most of the media, should offer a congratulations for the determination of proving us wrong to date. Brendan Venter does not give a damn about the national team and why should he? He is trying to build a champion outfit at Watford; that's his brief whatever the club may say and spin re developing young English players.

Not that they are not doing this as well; Andy Saull is unfashionable but a fine player and Alex Goode has class, full stop. With other teams losing players to the autumn internationals Saracens could find themselves unbeaten come Christmas and three quarters of the way towards the play offs. If you think I am joking look at their forthcoming fixtures...so well done to the Fez Heads (for that is how Saracens fans were and should always be) and so too to Leeds.

Sunday's win against Wasps was ugly but nevertheless a thing of beauty for Neil Back's team. Bath, Gloucester and Worcester are all within their sights now. Leeds will have to add some variety in attack but with a determined pack and organised defence, they are no longer looking the pushover many thought they were from day one of the season. Both Greenwood and Barnes had them staying up and whilst one win does not take away the fact they are rightful favourites for the drop, it does give them hope and foundations on which to build.

Propping up

On the subject of foundations, does England have any left in the front row after the host of injuries to their propping resources? It is not ideal but as both Rob Andrew and Martin Johnson has rightly reiterated - no excuses. One man's loss is another man's gain and England are hardly facing the greatest Wallaby team of all time on Saturday. The Australians have lost six of their last seven and they only won the solitary match against the Springboks because the South Africans were not so much resting as sleeping on their laurels.

England has more injuries but Australia, with its shallow pool of resources, has more debilitating ones. The loss of Berrick Barnes, Nathan Sharpe and Sterling Mortlock is huge, especially as this squad is a callow one with one eye on 2011. The Australians are superb at timing the maturity of their teams but they are not so philosophical about defeat that a terrible autumn may not have repercussions for Robbie Deans, their Wallaby coach.

I happen to think they could turn the corner sooner than later but I am not a patriot and don't worry about interim results if - come the World Cup - my team has its best possible chance. Deans, for all the current worries, still has Australia just about on course.

Whether Martin Johnson has is as big a question as will England win this weekend? There is no excuse but a 12-9 win via the boot of Jonny Wilkinson will give them a relieved night and a less harrowing morning with the Sunday papers but what else? When you mature into the best team in the world as Martin Johnson's England did, and you can win a variety of ways, it doesn't matter how you win as long as you do. But Johnson seems to be applying this mantra before the team is anywhere near the pinnacle and until England liberate their attacking game and find the requisite balance of pace, power and precision - the very understanding of how to win games - they will be in danger of emulating the Grand Slam teams of the early 90s which bullied weaker opposition but lacked the know-how and courage to win a World Cup.

His England blew some early games to find their selves and if he has to do the same as a manager what is the problem as long as we know he is staring over the horizon and has a long as well as short-term plan? Make no mistake, the performance as well as results count for England this autumn. You will hear plenty of spin telling you otherwise but such talk is a mask to stop people thinking about the implications for a team that to date has been treading in treacle rather than sprinting towards the World Cup.

English fans could do with performances to prove it was right to keep all the management from the previous regime except the most qualified coach of them all, Brian Ashton. So far, England has achieved nothing beyond the reach of Ashton. It is time for Johnson to justify Andrew's decision and deliver.

A nation waits

So too Wales; delivery on this score is long overdue. 1953; 56 long and painful years; I was there as a schoolboy when Wales led going into the dying moments of a New Zealand test match at the old National Stadium and Andy Haden dived out of the line out and the ordinary Brian McKechnie produced an extraordinary kick to end Welsh dreams. New Zealand deserves to be favourites (as they just about always have against what has historically been the second tier Northern Hemisphere) but Wales should not be cowed by what they saw in Tokyo. This is not a bad All Black team but it is light years from being a great one. If Wales can maintain discipline and keep Dan Carter away from penalty kicks for goal they have a real chance. If they believe in their selves Wales could end the All Black half century of complete dominance.

Good luck to them - and good luck to England - in fact good luck to all the teams, especially those with the guts to play with some style, to win some quick ball and not be afraid of the opposition to the extent they accept an inability to gamble and win quick ball. Here's to a positive weekend of international sport; might the bravest and best prevail.

Stuart answers your emails...

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

Coaches corner

Stuart, surely it's now time to look at England's underperforming coaches? John Wells, Forwards Coach, 2004 - 2009. 65 matches, Win 29, Lose 36. Win ratio 44.6%.

Mike Ford, Defensive Coach, 2006 - 2009. 46 matches, Win 20, Lose 26. Win Ratio 43.5%. AND with a massive negative 100 points against (981 points for England 1,081 points against).

Surely these two have a fair share of responsibility for England's performances over the last four and six years? I read this week that Rob Andrew has not only supported Martin Johnson, but also the management team through to the 2011 World Cup. Are these two really the best coaches to take us forward, or a continued legacy of failed RFU and management structures from the past?
Dominic Oldridge

STUART REPLIES: Dominic, When Martin Johnson was appointed he - unlike Brian Ashton - was given a free hand with his coaches. Brian Smith was added and only Ashton released. I expressed my opinion then that the surviving coaches had a poorer record than Ashton himself and, to date, little has occurred to change the view. If England continue to struggle at the breakdown and concede tries to the best teams the roles of the two men you mention and the managerial ability of Johnson himself will rightly be debated. England has no option - no matter what - but to support this management team having gone out on a limb to appoint an absolute rookie manager. To act with speed, should England regress, would be a statement of failure on the part of the people who allowed this regime to come into being. That's the worst case scenario; let's think the best. Some sparkling attacking rugby based around quick ball and a defence to shut Australasia out...if you cannot be positive NOW, before it all begins, when can you?!

Fear of failure

Stuart, Do you agree that the fundamental cause of this defensive attitude in England and the fear of failure stems from the Heineken Cup qualification process? In the Magners league, the teams don't have to worry about relegation or qualifying for Europe as the qualification criteria mean that Munster, Leinster, Ospreys, Blues, Edinburgh etc will always have a place in Europe. On the other hand teams like Gloucester are going to have to scrape all the points they can together this year to try and qualify. This is highlighted by Wasps' absence this year and Leicester leaving it to the last day of the season to qualify a couple of years ago. I don't know how this could be solved as there are only a small number of Celtic teams now and the European competition needs all of these as well as the English and French teams. Do you have a solution?
Matt

STUART REPLIES: Matt, no I don't. This negativity was an issue before the Heineken Cup was a reality. The problem is in the coaching. The easy option, playing without the ball, is the route chosen over the more ambitious path of attack AND defence. There is plenty of talent but there is a lack of vision coming from the top; but don't despair. All these things are cyclical. One day a counter attack coach will tear up the preconceived notions and we'll look to counter before kicking to place the responsibility on the other lot. A little like the struggling Scarlets did at London Irish as Mark Jones tore the English Premiership elite defence to shreds. Patience, Matt, worry about the philosophy of the English club game and not the details of the Heineken Cup. They do make life easier for Celtic teams but your argument smacks of justification for dull rugby when there is none.

Name it to gain it

Stuart, what are England's objectives for the autumn internationals? I know they obviously want to win all three, but surely Martin Johnson and co will have some other ideas of what they want to see from their team? Your insight into this would be most interesting.
Kevin Richards

STUART REPLIES: Kevin, I hope England's objectives are to set out to win AND develop a team to be competitive when it matters most - at the World Cup. Right now, however, as Lawrence Dallaglio has been pointing out, England are shy of enunciating their objectives. It should be straightforward; England has sufficient player base and financial backing to target one spot only - the world's number one - but the limitations of the game plan and conservatism of selection to date makes you wonder whether we are back to the bad old days of being content to win a few Grand Slams by bullying the 'smaller' nations. Those days are gone and so should such a little England thought process.

Looking at Lawes

Dear Mr Barnes, do you think England are reaping what they sowed? In the early 2000s there was definitely an eye on the "exciting" rugby being played in the S14 and consequently England looked at players such as Chris Jones and James Forrester. There was a series of gnarled, powerful locks with Martin Johnson, Danny Grewcock, Simon Shaw and Ben Kay and then a missing generation. I think that by looking at the so-called athletic players, England's chickens have come home to roost. Second row now concerns me more than any other: Steve Borthwick and Nick Kennedy do not exactly say "power" in the game. This means that the side does not hit the ruck hard enough and there is just not enough oomph coming through into the props in the scrum. England have reached a stage where, of the top ten nations, they arguably have the worst second row and I just do not see where the next pair of international standard locks are coming from.
Chris Alner, London

STUART REPLIES: Chris, Courtney Lawes is not an original name but I'll throw it at you anyway. He is going to be special and sooner than later. It is conceivable that, should Martin Johnson have the courage to admit to personal mistakes, that we'll see a Simon Shaw and Courtney Lawes combination in the next World Cup (with Shaw carefully cossetted). Dave Attwood of Gloucester, James Gaskell of Sale and the massively underestimated James Hudson at Newcastle are all players with the capacity to be able test performers. And if you want a grafter, how about Erik Lund at Leeds. England's biggest problem has been to omit men like Kennedy when he should have been given a run in the team. No, I don't see a bleak future at lock and I certainly wouldn't blame any problems on an obsession with Super 14 which is the last thing going on in English rugby circles.

Thanks to you all for the mail, keep it coming through the international period but don't forget your clubs....

Stuart

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