POOR OLD Italy! The very week after they might have beaten Ireland, they were put to the sword by an England side that would have sent warning (and alarm) bells out to the rugby world.

This Twickenham victory was a cutting-edge example of what is possible in English rugby. The tries do not lie and there was no lucky bounce to account for the try-fest. England were in their best form.

The skill that appeared to have improved most was the offload. This is a game-breaker at any level of rugby and even the best-organised defences simply cannot cope with it when it is executed correctly. Defenders are left with nothing to defend when the offload is hanging there for a support runner to take.

The crucial part of the skill is for the support runner to hold his depth, something that does not come easily or naturally to many English players who have been taught rugby by drills when they were in their formative sporting years.

Drills tend to produce players who can excel when they have mastered the drill, which is nothing like what happens on a rugby field. Young players who are encouraged through playing conditioned games (the French?) will pick up the concept without knowing they are mastering a very important rugby skill that eludes so many players.

But what is depth and when is it too much? That is like trying to explain the meaning of life, but if a player in support thinks he is too deep, he’s probably just about right. Once he starts his support run too early and gets on the ball-carrier’s shoulder, he is virtually out of the game and has no role to play in any ensuing offload.

Ashton, even with his dive, is getting the hang of this game of rugby union.

He is going to lose a certain try one day when he cannot control the ball in mid-flight, but he always brings back one of my many memories of Peter Ford and his judgment of players at selection.

Gloucester had a back row forward who scored try after try, but there were some who doubted his defensive qualities. Peter would shut them up pretty effectively with a simple pair of questions:.

1 – How many points does he usually score per match?

2 – And how many points can you honestly say he gives away per match?

It was a no-brainer and that gifted player got the nod.

Ashton is a bit like that. You might not appreciate his showbiz dive, but he is scoring tries on the international stage and that is far better than a winger who conforms but does not score at all. Keep picking him.

GLOUCESTER went to the Wasps at Adams Park on Sunday and were worthy 9-10 winners. In truth, the Wasps were flattered by the score.

But Walder’s three penalties got the hosts dangerously close to the Cherry and Whites in atrocious conditions.

I went to the stadium for the first time and can’t honestly say it was a memorable occasion. The playing surface and floodlighting were excellent, but it is still a football stadium when all is said and done. There is no feeling of history or tradition, like the one that oozes out of Kingsholm, but the entire Gloucester team worked their socks off to register a welcome win away from home.

There is rarely a totally good story and the injuries to James Simpson-Daniel and Tom Varndell, who were both stretchered off, marred what had been an absorbing, if at times flawed, encounter.

Wasps kicked their penalties but Gloucester did get the game’s only try and managed to nullify the Wasps wingers with some sensible kicking tactics in driving rain.

The scrum was in fine fettle and paved the way for some effective driving play and a fully deserved victory.