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England's loss to New Zealand will benefit them in the long run, says Stuart Barnes

Image: Chris Robshaw disconsolate after losing to New Zealand

The immediate sense of disappointment at Twickenham was obvious (other than if you were an All Black or All Black fan).

Foundations
A win would have had English ears blocked. We would have been counting the days off until the World Cup. An impressive defeat leaves them with strong foundations but the heads closer to the ground than clouds. The midfield is a mess and Owen Farrell, for all his temperament is at the heart of the problem. He is the man that Lancaster has decided will drive England towards the World Cup. He is also the bloke who kicked 17 points against New Zealand again. He has much going for him but defeat is a reminder how much he still has to work on. The centre partnerships have struggled for years but with the rare exception of Charlie Hodgson few English fly halves bring the positive attacking philosophy to the game we see from Dan Carter. Farrell is a grafter and will not stop working to improve his game. But right now he hasn't quite got the balance of his positioning and timing of a pass. Defeat reminds England that improvement in this aspect makes the team even more formidable. Lancaster has almost an obligation to look at a new outside centre. Joel Tomkins has had three cracks at it and even taking Farrell's role into account insufficient plusses arise. Henry Trinder is an obvious option while Luther Burrell should see a start in the Six Nations, maybe even as a 12. It is not a case of dropping players but finding the best team with a few changes here and there. It is much easier to make changes and experiment after defeat. England, with home advantage, is in a decent position to build towards a serious World Cup challenge but only if they accept some serious weaknesses to currently exist. Their pool grows more interesting by the game.
Substantial
Wales were by no means bad against South Africa and they hammered Argentina on Saturday. They may have a problem with the Southern Hemisphere trio but they do not fear England. Australia, the other force in this pool has bounced back from Twickenham with half a century in Italy and a substantial win in Dublin. They retain superb skills but the intensity of the best teams can swamp that skill. If they find an edge to their pack as England seek an edge to their backs and Wales turn up without injuries and a balance of backs and forwards we have the most exciting World Cup pool of them all. South Africa also has its eye on 2015. It looks ominous. Poor Scotland was overpowered by a Springbok team with the capacity to score catch and drive tries at will before unleashing brilliant young talents like Willie Le Roux into the broken field game. His work for JP Pietersen's try was pure genius. For all the talk from England's camp about being the world's second best team by the end of 2013, the truth is South Africa is well clear of them. They are the most improved team in the world. If England is to win the World Cup it has to catch them, beat Wales and Australia and maybe (but who knows?) a French team that collectively matches its individual talent before considering New Zealand. There is a long way to go. In the wake of defeat, constructive criticism and a demand that England perform to high standards against lower rated opponents is more helpful to England than lowered aspirations and the memory of a one off performance.

Stuart answers your emails...

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

Stuart, My real concern is that we lack as you quite rightly say creativity and attacking threat in our back line. Everyone talks about the centre problems but you could have Conrad Smith and Wesley Fofana in there and still have a problems when you are playing a fly-half with no vision. We know what Farrell can do but he's not going to take us to a world cup final - why has Lancaster not tried someone else out - Burns and Ford have so much more to offer than Farrell.
Brendan Ewes
STUART REPLIES: Brendan, he might just get to a final. Twickenham is a significant advantage for England and Farrell can play a certain game well but it will be a limited game and it will rely 100% on the pack and it will possibly not maximise the team's full potential, whatever that might be. As for why not Burns and Ford. Both read the game better but neither defend nor tackle with the excellence of Farrell and maybe right now England, for all their talk find it easier to be big and physical, than big, physical and skillful to boot. I think Farrell is just about inked in as WC fly half and England has decided to give him as much playing time as possible, right or wrong.

Hi Stuart, I think England were very good - obviously being beaten so narrowly by NZ is no disgrace. They have made some progress, but there were some areas (and players) that are not good enough. Our wingers time and again are too easily suckered in so it leaves the outside clear for the opposition and the in-field kicking was not up to Test standard and did not give much chance for a successful chase. There must be changes in personnel on the wings, at least, with Tom Young's place in serious question - unless he can quickly sort out his line-out throws. Twelvetrees could perhaps be persevered with but the centre also remains a major problem . Which players do you think Stuart Lancaster has to bring in for the 6 Nations squad bearing in mind how he seems to bend over backwards to be loyal to his squad and gives some players numerous chances?
Roger Hale
STUART REPLIES: Roger, the midfield is a mess but I like Ben Foden and would persevere with him. The kicking game was not poor it was just ambitious. It was designed for distance not regaining ball. It is part of a strategy that is effective to a certain level and might just claim a scalp here and there but it is not the essence of a world number one team. I would love to see George Ford and Anthony Watson given some Six Nations time. Henry Trinder and Luther Burrell simply must be given opportunities to improve on a midfield where nobody distinguished themself in a creative sense. The game was lost when Hartley left the field. The next lineout England were in a good field position and Tom Youngs missed his man which put NZ on the front foot and England under pressure, he then missed the next lineout when England were defending and NZ subsequently scored. Youngs may be OK in the loose, not as good as Hartley, but he is poor at the set pieces and if you don't do the basics right then you will never win. Youngs was fast tracked into the England squad, a decision which has backfired, he should get a couple of seasons under his belt at Leicester before he is considered again. Brooker and Paice are both better and should be given a chance.
Mick Collyer

Stuart, do you think that something needs to be done about the state of the pitches at some of these stadiums? The Millennium Stadium and Murrayfield were shocking and cannot seem to cope with the rigours of international rugby especially at scrum-time. Murrayfield looked like an accident waiting to happen. Surely something needs to be done asap to get the facilities up to scratch?
Michael Smith
STUART REPLIES: Michael, yes it does. Three stadiums have been a disgrace, unfit for Test match sport. Over to the grounds men of the world and the men with the purse strings.

Stuart, is it back to the drawing board for Scotland after that drubbing from South Africa? What do you think can be done to galvanise the Scottish team into a unit and eliminate the errors that were stopping any attacks.
Karl Hayes
STUART REPLIES: Karl, things might not be as bad as you think. South Africa are much better than any team in the Six Nations. Your team is not aimed to win World Cup but Six Nations matches and I wouldn't dismiss your boys quite yet. Back at their level things might not appear so forlorn.

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