Although I was disappointed to miss the France game through injury, I was over the moon with the way the England boys silenced their critics with a big performance in Paris - and a thoroughly deserved victory.

In particular, I was delighted for my Leicester team-mate Tom Crofts who came on for the injured James Haskell early on in the first half, and looked like he’d been playing international rugby all his life.

I was pleased when Tom was named in the initial squad for the Six Nations because his club performances have been outstanding this season, he deserved his chance and he was massively unfortunate to to miss the opening Six Nations games against Wales and Italy through injury.

I have seen first hand Tom’s development  at Welford Road during the last few years and there is no doubt he has all the attributes to play at the highest level.

Tall and athletic which makes him a real asset at the lineout, he is also incredibly fast and a nightmare to keep up with in training! He is the only man that gets near Tom Varndell for pace at the club which is incredible for a back five forward.

Of course his searing speed has been well documented , but there is more to his game than that. His wiry build is deceptive because  he has worked hard on the weights and is far stronger than people give him credit for. His pace and sheer athleticism around the park give England something a bit different which is important  as we try to expand our game plan.

Playing France on their own patch at the Stade de France is always a daunting prospect, as is born out by the fact we hadn’t won there in the Six Nations for eight years. So no one should underestimate how  impressive this victory was for the England boys.

I said in my previous column, that I believe this is a high quality England squad, it just takes time to bed in new combinations  and styles of play. We needed to be patient  and performances like that would come, and so it has proved.

Of course there is always stuff to work on, but I have always maintained we are heading in the right direction. Once we have a few of our injured players back as well, the squad becomes even stronger. Hopefully that includes me as well!