Scrum of the Earth /

No paper airplanes, drawing on the desks, or sending text messages to your pal at the front, what’s going on? School was never likes this in my day.

England’s class of 2008 is two weeks into Martin Johnson's nursery school of hard knocks at the lavish Pennyhill Park surroundings and the smiles from ear to ear and almost horizontal attitude towards the press, suggests the classroom is a happy place.

OK, so we haven't even hit a tackle in anger yet, but whether it is in victory or defeat, England's garden of talent are up for the challenge.

Pace, arrogance, self-belief in abundance, epitomised by the 21-year-old half-backs, draws comparisons with a bunch of kids charging into a sweetie shop.

Did you know Clive Woodward also plucked a handful of blooming flowers for his first fete against the Wallabies in 1997? Halloween might have just passed but Sir Clive gave birth to some guy called Greenwood, so what price on a Monye, Armitage or Flutey setting off similar fireworks? 

Any fans hoping for a 30-point march at HQ on Saturday can forget about it. Johnson comes from a far more pragmatic education where a win is a win, be it 1, 2, or 100 points.

England's team manager said: "The first object is to win by scoring more points than them,

"Exciting the crowd for the sake of it can be a distraction. You can land yourselves in a lot of trouble by trying to look sexy."

And trouble is something Johnson believes he has avoided with a bold five-two split on the bench. Assured of a raft of "contingency plans," we could yet see Tom Croft popping up on the wing.

Risks such as these could be key feature of the Johnson regime but there's a something fresh and enthralling about this bunch of babyfaced assassins.

Going to war with the Pacific Islanders on Saturday might not be as pretty as the rugged unshaven appearances of England's latest bounty hunters but it'll be fast, furious and a lot of fun.