ENGLAND NOW THE YARDSTICK
5th Feb 2001

Graham Henry will be examining all aspects of his coaching structure and the way in which his players are prepared for international matches following the 44-15 opening Lloyds TSB Six Nations defeat by England.

Despite being highly competitive throughout the game, Wales were outscored by six tries to two in what was England's biggest victory on Welsh soil.

Wales travel to Scotland for round two of the championship and even though the Scots have three key injury worries following their 16-6 defeat against the French in Paris - Gregor Townsend has a suspected right knee cartilage problem, Richard Metcalfe dislocated a finger and fellow lock Scott Murray aggravated a knee injury - Henry knows his team must step up their effort.

"We knew before we played England just how hard it is going to be in Edinburgh and that remains the case despite the result in Paris," said Henry.

"It is up to us to improve. I'm disappointed and frustrated that we aren't as far up the ladder as we might have been.

"We must go back to the drawing board and improve on things. It was strange, because our weaknesses against South Africa became our strengths against England, while our strengths became weaknesses.

"I still think we are developing, but England are developing faster than us. We thought we were competitive, yet we lost by 30 points.

"It's time to be up front and honest - we have got to do a bit more. We need to put a structure in place to move forward and we have to try to improve what we are doing.

"We have made a lot of strides in some of the things we are doing but, quite frankly, even though our training methods have improved we are still not doing enough.

"England are now a very good side who are playing with a lot of freedom. They are a measuring stick for us."