England Rugby: Harnessing The Power of The Mono-Brow

England's 37-20 defeat in Auckland today saw a triumph of mental strength over physical ability.

If England wish to compete with the All Blacks and return to the top of rubgy's world rankings, they will first have to shatter the aura of invincibility which, to a great extent, still separates New Zealand from the rest of the world.

Martin Johnson, the new England coach—and, incidentally, the last man to lead an England team to victory in New Zealand—is the man to inspire England to victory. His absence from the team set up today was the decisive factor in New Zealand's victory. His first step in doing so is to rid himself of Rob Andrew.

Let us take nothing away from the All Blacks' victory. They were comfortably 17 points better than England today in terms of performance. In fact, they were probably 37 points better. In key areas of the game, they outperformed England. Not least was the outstanding composure of Dan Carter, the All Black outside half.

However, it can't be tough to beat your opposite number when he's only on the park for 15 minutes. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of today's performance was the substitution of Charlie Hodgson, the England No. 10, quarter of an hour into proceedings.

The decision, made by Rob Andrew, the England Director of Elite Performance—and interim England coach until Johnson takes up the post in July—strikes at the heart of England's problems.

Hodgson cannot be said to have had a good start to the game. His suspect defence was targeted by All Black inside centre Ma'a Nonu, who barged through his half-hearted tackle to set up Mils Muliaina for the first try of the game.

However, Andrew's decision to be rid of the last outside half standing in the England squad with only a quarter of the game gone defies belief and destroys self-belief.

Andrew is paid an enormous wage to manage all of England's representative teams' performances. He was responsible for the dismissal of Brian Ashton, the outgoing coach, who had in the last year seen England to second in the World Cup and in the Six Nations. To then sack him was a statement of where England wished to be: at the top, not second.

In both the replacement of Hodgson and Ashton, the issue is less one of getting rid of one man than with the quality of the replacement. In ridding the England set up of Ashton, Andrew placed himself in charge of the New Zealand tour and with a chance finally to justify his own wage.

His replacement of Hodgson with Olly Barkley with a quarter of the game gone raises more questions about Andrew than it does of Hodgson.

Hodgson's own abilities aside—and he has been one of the Guinness Premiership's most consistent performers this season—the injuries to Johnny Wilkinson and Danny Cipriani were allied to Andrew's own perverse decision to not replace either of the incumbent midfield generals before the tour began. This left Hodgson asthe only full-time fly-half in the England squad.

Hodgson's major weakness over the course of his international career has been a lack of confidence. To take off the only play-maker in an England squad with - let us not forget - another test to come in a week's time, wrecked Hodgson's fragile confidence and profoundly undermined the structure of a team who, until this point, were in the game.

I wouldn't, for a moment, argue that England deserved to win the test match. Keys to the All Blacks' victory, however, were team cohesion and confidence that, as a former international fly-half should know, are directed from 10. If Andrew needed any reminder, he only needed to watch All Black fly-half Dan Carter at work.

To replace Hodgson with Olly Barkley left the best inside centre in England unable to display his wares once more and placed an, already limited, attack virtually completely unable to function. In short, one poor decision from a man paid to make the big calls, shot an already big task for England, squarely in the foot.

Martin Johnson, England's talismanic captain of their 2003 World Cup triumph, has as his first task as coach, to build foundations of self-belief in a team that, in one fell swoop, Andrew has done a great deal to undermine.

Johnson led his troops to a gritty 13-11 victory over the All Blacks in Wellington in June 2003. Coaching the team that day was Clive Woodward who had only the RFU's CEO to report to and the absolute confidence of a team he had built for nearly five years and for whom consistency of selection and mutual respect were bye-words of success. Johnson will look to build the same team culture as a coach and his mono-browed intensity, the aura of absolute, no-nonsense reliability will be a welcome tonic to a team who did not look, physically, 17 points off the pace.

However, to do so, Johnson will need to be rid of the architect of his side's undoing and a major impediment to his own success as head coach - Rob Andrew will have to go.

In Johnson, England have an archetype of reliability and a man with the mental steel to galvanise a team behind him. Without that self-belief, no team stands much chance of beating the All Blacks in their own back yard, where the next World Cup will be played.

In Johnson, England have a chance to show how far they have come from this disappointing start. In players of the calibre of Haskell, Rees, Ojo and Care - all of whom are enormous positives from today's test - Johnson has the raw material to do so. On today's showing, few would have Charlie Hodgson wearing the England No. 10 shirt at the beginning of the World Cup. If England are to be the last men standing at the end of that tournament, however, it is the absence of Rob Andrew, not Hodgson, that might be the deciding factor for Johnson's tenure in charge.