'England have found an edge to bounce back'

In his BBC Sport column, World Cup winner Matt Dawson reflects on England's narrow Six Nations victory over Scotland, and assesses how the battle for British and Irish Lions selection at fly-half is shaping up.

I'm always in the camp of winning over entertainment.

Of course England want to entertain the fans, but when you're in that white shirt, you just want to win the game.

As a player, I never thought 'how can I do this to entertain the fans?'

If these two wins over France and Scotland are the start of a 10-game unbeaten run, England can be the ugliest team in the world and the roof will still come off Allianz Stadium.

The fans love coming to Twickenham, knowing no-one beats you or messes you around.

If you went outside the bars and pubs around the ground after the victory over Scotland, they were absolutely rammed two hours after the game.

England have found a little edge over the past couple of games where they have gone behind and it is invaluable experience for these players to bounce back and grind out the win.

It will stand them in good stead.

They have a solid set-piece, which is going to handle most teams. The line-out looks solid with Ollie Chessum coming in, and at the breakdown they are getting the balance of the back row.

For me, the glaring the omission is kicking the ball when it was the wrong option.

When there is a five-on-three in attack, let's isolate that final defender and walk in for the try.

I don't mind kicking when it's really static. It's difficult to break down Test defences when you don't have momentum in the game.

But it seems like England are recognising scenarios from training where 'this is what we are going to do', regardless of the opposition.

I started to feel England were getting away from that in the autumn and previously in last year's Six Nations where they have been 'full metal jacket' ready to attack.

The first line break came towards the end of the first half when they had a bit of territory and possession. Marcus Smith went through the middle, but the top teams finish those opportunities off and they are the bits that will frustrate them.

England have really talented, skilful individuals and I would like to see them take a bit more calculated risk.

I love their openness and honesty after the game. They knew they hadn't played at their capabilities but they really did dig in, particularly around defence. It was incredibly sound and dominant and it gave them a chance.

They have needed a bounce of the ball in the past couple of games, which didn't go their way in the autumn, but they are showing the same fight and commitment and getting their reward.

Scotland did their homework but England adapted

England are flying in and competing for the ball at the breakdown but there was a pattern to their weakness on the right flank.

Defensively, England are going nowhere. If you take them on around the fringes they look solid and Fin Smith makes some big hits at fly-half, but they desperately need to improve outside that number 13 channel.

Against France they got undone a bit by the way they were drifting in defence - and Scotland had done their homework.

If England kicked long, Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe were going to attack them. They were brilliant and England had no answer until they got into the dressing room.

They then shifted how they were going to defend by not competing as much and spreading wider. They were able to absorb it better and took control of the game.

England then go six points up after Fin Smith's penalty, but the one thing they should have been screaming at each other from the restart was to exit properly and score the next points.

Scotland were going to throw the kitchen sink at them and the next three points would have killed the game.

That mentality for me is still a little bit lacking.

It will come, and ultimately they won, but if that is a game to decide the Six Nations and you are playing against France or Ireland, you have to assume they make the conversion at the end and win by a point.

It's Italy next back at home and it's a great opportunity to up the risk profile of their attack.

I'm not asking for any change in personnel - it's about making different decisions in those Test-match scenarios.

Grind Italy down, kick our goals and score tries.

With the chest pumped out after two wins at home and skipper Maro Itoje leading the charge, England should be 20-point winners of that game.

They can't influence France and Ireland, but this Six Nations is a million miles from being over and Grand Slams are hard to come by.

Ireland are still favourites but I have a sneaking suspicion France can cause an upset in Dublin.

British and Irish Lions fly-half conundrum

If Scotland's Finn Russell made one of his three kicks it would have been another headline man-of-the-match Calcutta Cup performance.

He was pulling the strings and putting people through beautifully, but you're allowed to have a bad day and it will go down as a cross in pencil rather than ink for British and Irish Lions selection.

I actually don't think the Lions fly-half is decided by any stretch.

Ireland's Sam Prendergast is finding his feet beautifully in that international jersey. He is making mistakes but it doesn't seem to phase him - a bit like Fin Smith who continues to develop his understanding of the game at international level.

I'm a big Marcus Smith fan but there is no room to shoehorn people in at international level. He is a good option at full-back because England have two fly-halves in the team and it's hard for the opposition to defend that flowing option.

But when George Furbank comes back to fitness I think Steve Borthwick has a conundrum, and I don't think Marcus is the answer at 15 long-term.

France and Scotland were able to exploit him on occasion but you can't blame him too much for that because he hasn't played a lot in that position.

He is not getting his hands on the ball enough or making his traditional line-breaks.

He may benefit from being on the bench a little bit and seeing the game before coming on and sparking it up, rather than being in the backfield where he just wants to get his hands on the ball.

I think Marcus' first instinct is to see what is on for him.

Because he has the talent he can get away with that for Harlequins and he will win man-of-the-match awards all day long.

But when you are playing a New Zealand or a South Africa, Fin Smith's instinct of 'Where is my inside centre? Where are my forwards? What's the information?' is what the team needs.

Russell used to be like that and it used to all be about the Finn Russell show, but it has been tweaked over the years and you can see he is looking for the option of the team. He still looks great but the team is benefitting.