Martin Johnson Era Up and Running

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The Martin Johnson era in English rugby is up and running after the coach started his reign as England coach with a 39-13 victory over the Pacific Islanders at Twickenham.

It was a positive start to the autumn internationals, with five tries being scored in total by England.

Danny Cipriani returned to the side to score a try, four conversion, and two penalty goals. Cipriani's London Wasps teammate Paul Sackey was also impressive as he scored two tries, and there was also a try scored from Lee Mears, and debutant Nick Kennedy.

The two other England debutants, Ugo Monye and Delon Armitage, were also rather impressive. London Irish full-back Monye had a great game, while Harlequins winger Armitage also had a great game, his fantastic athleticism causing all sorts of problems for the Islanders, and helping him win the man of the match award.

It was a good win for England, as they showed they have pace and invention, but they also have a tendency for naivety, particularly in the first half. Their execution definitely needs working on, especially with much tougher tests coming up against Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.

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England gave Martin Johnson the victory he demanded in his first game in charge, but the new national team manager also admitted there is plenty of work to do.

He said in the week that achieving a result was what really mattered, and generally appeared satisfied with England's performance on Saturday.

However, Johnson also acknowledged that tougher assignments were to come against the southern hemisphere's top three nations over the next three weeks.

"There are areas of the game where we need to improve a lot," Johnson admitted on Sky Sports 2.

"But it was a pretty tough game in wet conditions—and we got there in the end.

"It was a difficult first game, with all the 'hoopla' going on around it against dangerous opposition."

The new team boss was also delighted with Delon Armitage's debut.

"I thought he was outstanding. He looked great," said Johnson.

"He has trained like that. But some players train like that and don't play like that.

"I just said to him 'I don't think I have ever seen a better debut'."

And Armitage himself was understandably delighted to have begun his international career.

"I always wanted to play for England and show what I can do in front of a big crowd," he said.

"The first five or 10 minutes, I was a bit shaky - but then I got into the game and started to enjoy it."