The talking for new England stops this week. Sir Clive Woodward, somewhat dismissively, said last week that the impact of the interim management team had been largely confined to good public relations: the right words had been said and the correct actions taken as part of the repair work after a ruinous World Cup campaign but judgment would be suspended until shortly before 7pm on Saturday when the final whistle sounds at Murrayfield.
The caretaker coach, Stuart Lancaster, has talked about a stronger code of conduct after tales of excess in New Zealand but his focus has been on how England play. He wants the emphasis to be on winning rather than on not losing and he has shaken up the one area that came to define Martin Johnson's regime: the midfield.
Johnson preferred a crasher and basher at No12 rather than a second five-eighth in the New Zealand mould, a footballer whose instincts are not defensive, and Shontayne Hape and Mike Tindall, not forgetting Ayoola Erinle, came to define his three years and a few months in charge – players adept at clearing out rucks, forcing their way over the gain line and tackling anything that ran at them but at the expense of any creative edge. Tindall and Hape have shown for their clubs this season that they are not one-dimensional centres but they reflected the old zeitgeist.
England will have a new midfield triangle against Scotland. There has to be a change at fly-half and outside-centre because Toby Flood and Manu Tuilagi are injured but it will be the inside-centre position that will show the stark difference between Lancaster's England and Johnson's. Owen Farrell will have the No12 on his jersey but he will operate at inside-centre in attack while Brad Barritt, another uncapped Saracen, takes over in defence. Both will have a licence to roam.
With Charlie Hodgson likely to replace Flood at fly-half, Saracens will provide Lancaster's 10, 12 and 13. On the surface, given that Saracens are not known for their prolific try-scoring or derring-do, it would seem that not much will change, but the end of the 2009-10 Premiership season, when Saracens won the semi-final at Northampton with a swagger before losing to Leicester in a final at Twickenham that was remarkably open, makes the selections anything but conservative. They have proved themselves as a side that can adapt with necessity.
"We will be asked to play a different role than we do at our club and we can do it," said Barritt, who was born in South Africa (he went to the same schools as the Saracens and England prop Matt Stevens) but declared his allegiance to England in 2009, less than a year after joining Saracens. "You play in the style that is going to make your team successful. We want to up the ante, playing with pace and intensity, imposing our game on defences, manipulating them and making them work hard. That does not mean we will be soft on defence but the intent will be to use the ball, always mindful that you have to adapt to weather conditions. The team that is picked will have talent across the board and will give it everything.
"We have a pragmatic game plan at Saracens but we are in a different environment with England and the emphasis is to play and look to attack. All the Sarries players feel we are adaptable and can blend in with the new style. Having said that, Sarries have shown in making it through to the Heineken Cup quarter-finals that pragmatism can take you through hard games. We had a brilliant training week in Leeds: the management is imposing a new culture and the players are upbeat. It is vibrant and exciting. There were no club cliques; everyone integrated."
Barritt was enjoying a successful career with his native Sharks when Eddie Jones, then director of rugby at Saracens, invited him to England towards the end of 2008. He was 22 and had been vice-captain of the Sharks and played at fly-half as well as centre after making his Super 14 debut in 2006.
"I have never had cause to regret the decision to move," said Barritt. "I have a strong English background. My parents both have British passports and I have family links in Devon and London. When Brian Smith [the then attack coach] asked me in 2009 to pledge my allegiance to England, it did not take me long to agree. I had grown up in Durban, living somewhat of a sheltered life, and it was a great opportunity for me to live in London and grow as a person."
Barritt played for the Saxons for two years under Lancaster and went on last summer's senior tour to Australia. He appeared for the Emerging Springboks in 2007, helping them win the IRB Nations Cup that year, and if he makes an impact in the Six Nations, he would be in contention for a place on the tour to South Africa in the summer. England may have a new head coach by then, with Lancaster's tenure ending in March. He has said he will apply for the permanent position with the deadline for applications falling after the opening two rounds of the championship.
"I enjoy working with Stuart," said Barritt. "We had short, sharp and intense training sessions in Leeds which the guys responded well to. We had a great time listening to people from various sports talking about the culture they brought into winning teams and we went out for a meal in Leeds. It is about hard work and people being honest with each other – representing the nation is an added incentive. It is good to get to know players from other clubs: the foundation of a great rugby side is standing together when things get tough, willing to fight and die for each other.
"You do not really get to know your opponents in the modern club game because managements like you to get back on the bus pretty quickly after a game. We have had our differences with Northampton at Sarries and it has been good to work with their players, who are great guys. It is about binding together. You need the self-discipline to push each other day in day out to the ultimate level: without that we will not be successful."
Barritt is six months away from completing a master's degree in business management at Hertfordshire University and he became engaged two months ago. "Saracens are big believers is having something to occupy your time away from rugby," he said. "I, like my family here, support Arsenal and when I was growing up I followed English sport.
"These are exciting times for me and I am relishing every moment. I am taking nothing for granted because I still have to prove I am worth a place in the side against Scotland. No one has a divine right to be here but I am loving it. I want to do England proud and it would be the proudest moment of my life if I did play on Saturday."
