Mark Evans: Greenwood the pass master, but bring back the variety show

Before the game the omission of Mike Catt and Danny Grewcock raised two big questions about England's style of play. Without the Bath playmaker, would they lose the width of attack that has been such a notable feature of the last three seasons? And lacking the ferocious intensity of the Lions lock, would their forward performance be a little toothless?

The sparkling display by Will Greenwood and the muscular merits of Mike Tindall meant that any fears on the width front were quickly allayed. Given the opportunity, the England back line looked threatening – Ben Cohen and Jason Robinson finished superbly and there was enough elsewhere to allow Austin Healey to have a rare off-day.

The Harlequins' centre has had a slowish start to the season, after picking up an ankle injury on the Lions tour but he had a hand in all four of the tries. Pick of the bunch was a beautiful quick pass under pressure for Robinson's first try. In his preferred position of inside centre, Greenwood gave England a cutting edge they lacked in the autumn. As a result Clive Woodward's men converted a very high percentage of the chances.

Which is probably just as well since the forwards had a much more mixed game. In the tight they were excellent, until the line-out got a bit sloppy late on. Matt Stewart, not noted for his scrummaging, had an uncomfortable afternoon at tight-head whilst Gordon Bulloch's throwing was put under all sorts of pressure.

However the driving passages of play that have been such a key part of recent successes were noticeably absent. Indeed for the first half-hour England did not even try to establish an inside game. The first time they tried to do so Ben Kay ran a great out-to-in pattern and then promptly dropped the ball. Joe Worsley, usually so adept in the tight-loose, was anonymous and Richard Hill had one of his quietest games in an England shirt.

Now all this may be a result of instructions – that I don't know. What I do know is that it allowed Scotland to get back into the game after a tremendous English start. If Duncan Hodge had kicked two relatively simple penalties in the second quarter the whole momentum could have changed. In their eagerness to play with the ball in hand, and without a traditional crash-ball merchant, England nearly allowed Scotland to pressure them into mistakes. This is not necessarily to argue for the return of Grewcock – Kay had a good game. But England must be always be aware that their greatest strength is the ability to mix up their game, and at Murrayfield this was not always apparent.

Fortunately for the visiting Anglo-Saxon contingent they were facing a very limited Scotland side. They lack anyone with real pace in the back three and a line breaker in midfield. These failings are beyond their control unless or until they unearth a new generation of outside backs. In the meantime they have to convert territory and pressure into points. A couple of real try-scoring opportunities went begging and your place kicker has to deliver; particularly when you are playing a superior side.

The one area where England certainly were outstanding was in defence. The desire to tackle was palpable and put Scotland in a desperate dilemma. Understandably anxious not to kick too much ball to Healey, Cohen and Robinson and they tried to play with the ball in hand – but that only brought them face to face with a well-drilled, aggressive wall of defenders who forced them into errors time and time again. Even when the Tyro scrum-half Nick Duncombe appeared for his fourth senior game of rugby union, the Scots were unable to exploit a possible weakness. They were fully occupied in simply trying to hold on to the ball.

Overall it was a very professional performance from England – and the most frightening thing is the list of players – Dallaglio, West, Vickery, Leonard, Grewcock, Dawson, Luger, Catt, Perry and Balshaw – who played little or no part.

Strength in depth gives a coach options. It also guarantees the very best from each player each time they take the pitch. Catt and Grewcock have played superbly for England in the last two years and yet now they may struggle to get back into the team. What a wonderful way of ensuring nobody else assumes they are a fixture. But international opponents need to be tested in all areas of the game. England are one of the very few sides capable of doing just that – as long as they remember to mix it up.