England boss Martin Johnson believes his side could have won the Six Nations had they shown a little more composure.
England had chances to win Six Nations, says manager
England manager Martin Johnson believes that his side had the ability to win the Six Nations if they had shown a little more composure against Wales and Ireland.
Johnson's team ended the tournament on a high on Saturday by regaining the Calcutta Cup with a 26-12 victory over Scotland.
England enjoyed the greater share of possession and territory in the game, but had to hold off a second-half resurgence from the visitors.
"The guys stuck in there. It got a bit nervous, but they kept their composure well," Johnson said.
"There were opportunities we missed, there always will be, and it was strange to have all the possession and the territory and lose the penalty count two to one. They kept pegging us back."
Despite the World Cup-winning captain hailing England's composure in that fixture, but said a lack of the same quality cost them dearly earlier on in the Six Nations.
Opportunities
Johnson added: "We have scored 16 tries in the championship and it's a long time since we have scored that many.
"Overall we lost two away games to the teams playing for the championship by a combined nine points.
"We are there or thereabouts. We created opportunities all tournament, but we didn't have enough composure to win those games.
"That's what needs to improve, but it's getting better and the effort has been fantastic. I couldn't ask for anything more.
"We've been through big experiences in Cardiff and Dublin and it bodes well for the future. Quite a few guys have taken big steps and you always have an eye on the bigger picture, which is the World Cup. I think we're moving in the right direction."
Johnson also fiercely denied rumours Danny Cipriani failed to win back his England place because of a training ground bust-up.
"I can categorically deny that. There was no physical confrontation," he added.
"It's completely wrong to say he was not part of the Six Nations because of that. He's been in the squad the whole way through."
Errors
Scotland head coach Frank Hadden's position is looking uncertain after he failed to reach the minimum requirement of two wins in the Six Nations for the second consecutive year.
But the 54-year-old thought that his team could have against England if they managed to avoid some basic mistakes.
"There will be a period of reflection and a review process," he said.
"Half an hour after the game it's not something we've been thinking about. I could not have been more excited about the opportunity this week and it's a very flat changing room.
"After 70 minutes we were definitely in the game and felt we had a real opportunity to pull off a special win for our long-suffering supporters down here.
"Some elementary errors cost us dear and we're disappointed with the three tries conceded.
"We desperately wanted to do well and I feel we have made some progress, but you can't hide from the fact that we've not won enough games."
