The psychological gulf between winning and losing was visible for all to see at the England team hotel in Bagshot. Even the absence from training of their captain, Steve Borthwick, suffering from a stomach upset, could not dispel the healthy afterglow among the remainder of the squad following Saturday's flawed but significant victory over Wales. The road to Rome this weekend is appreciably straighter as a result.
It also makes life easier for the selectors. Following reassurances about the fitness of Riki Flutey, who is set to return in place of Toby Flood, the team manager Martin Johnson is likely to keep faith with the majority of his starting XV, having released nine fringe players back to their clubs today . Chris Ashton, Matt Banahan, Dan Hipkiss, Shontayne Hape, Ben Youngs, Lee Mears, Courtney Lawes, Jordan Crane and Dan Ward-Smith have all been deemed surplus to requirements, although the Leicester tighthead Dan Cole, the Worcester loosehead Matt Mullan and the Harlequins flanker Chris Robshaw have been retained. Cole won his first cap off the bench against Wales and is already pushing Davey Wilson hard.
Individual ambitions aside there remains the recurring conundrum of England's collective mindset. Interestingly the Sale winger Mark Cueto revealed that, for all the pre-game talk of liberation, his team were admonished by the management at the interval for trying to play too much rugby in their own half last week. Freedom of expression is a noble objective but old habits clearly die hard.
Part of the reason, according to Cueto, was rustiness. England did not want to allow the Welsh back into the game and Jonny Wilkinson was instructed to kick more as a result. If England feel unable to expand their horizons when they are leading 20-3 at home, though, it raises the question of when the time will ever be right. The imminent return of Flutey, forced to withdraw from the Welsh game with a dead leg, will help in that respect but there are still one or two mixed messages floating around the England camp.
One of the main themes of the coaches' post-match debrief, for example, was that launching attacks from your own half a la Phil Bennett should only be attempted in extremis. "In the first half we probably went out and tried to play too much," said Cueto, gallantly sticking to the party line. "Realistically, you're not going to score a try from your own half at international level." In almost the same breath, however, he admitted the tape had highlighted several instances when greater ambition could have paid dividends, even against Wales's blitz defence. "We just need to be a little bit braver and put that pass out at times," he said. "It comes back to rustiness a little bit." It also comes down to players backing themselves under pressure which comes with confidence.
The more enlightened attack coaches still argue that attacking from your own half is perfectly legitimate in certain circumstances, not least if an element of surprise is involved. If England are simply going to adhere to a territory-based kicking game – statistics showed that Wilkinson threw only five passes against Wales in the entire game – they risk ending up in a series of dogfights which might just suit the forward-orientated Italians this weekend. If England aspire to winning a World Cup next year – notwithstanding South Africa's no-nonsense modus operandi in 2007 – they need a few more party tricks up their sleeves.
Cueto, as a player with 15 Test tries to his name, would also dearly love to end a barren personal sequence of seven internationals without crossing the whitewash. On the other hand, England are finally developing a steelier core, with the likes of Lewis Moody, Nick Easter and Simon Shaw offering reliability, experience and a sense of perspective. Moody, taking no chances, has even scribbled a note on the back of his hand to remind himself to pack his passport . "It's up to the senior players to make sure the guys who haven't been to Italy before understand it's going to be a tough game," said the Leicester flanker. "It's going to take every bit of our dog, enthusiasm and spirit to come away with the right result. They're never to be underestimated. Long gone are the days w\hen you put 50 or 60 points on Italy."
Cueto feels the same way – "We've spoken about the potential we have but last week means nothing if we don't back it up" – and also went out of his way to praise Moody's trademark contribution. "He's the ultimate leader by example. He'll run into a brick wall or run in front of a bus if you want him to. That's exactly what we want. It's inspiring for everyone else."
