Autumn internationals 2010

England see a good deal of value in these annual "hit-outs" against the world's most celebrated invitation team, coming as they do before testing end-of-season visits to the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately for this Australia-bound party, the latest Barbarian combination were all "out" and no "hit" for much of the proceedings at Twickenham yesterday evening. Not only did they miss tackles the average rugby-playing infant might have expected to make, they also showed a distinct lack of interest in trying to make them in the first place.

Between them, the uncapped South African lock Ross Skeate and the similarly undecorated Australian full-back Paul Warwick did everything in their power to present Martin Johnson's side with cheap points, as did two colleagues who know what it is to play Test rugby and should therefore have made a better fist of it: the French centre Florian Fritz (18 international appearances) and the World Cup-winning Leicester second-rower Ben Kay. By the time they had floundered around like four fillets of wet halibut, the soon-to-be tourists were 20 points up and out of sight.

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But they faded, along with everyone else. Amid half-hearted Mexican waves and desultory choruses of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", England proceeded to construct a sow's ear from a silk purse, conceding possession, territory and tries in the most alarming of manners. David Smith, an unusually strong wing from New Zealand, and Census Johnston, a ridiculously strong prop from Samoa, both crossed, transforming a 32-7 deficit into something much more intriguing.

When Sackey took advantage of some high-class work from Cedric Heymans to bag his second try late on, England found themselves praying for close of play. They were a sorry sight: disorganised, lumpen and depressingly short of ideas, they looked increasingly helpless against a ragbag a collection of demob-happy bar-room carousers. The final whistle saved them, which just about said it all.

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Ignore the logistics for a minute and imagine if the Lions toured the southern hemisphere every year, playing one Test annually against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Now traditional tours by individual countries are thankfully back on the global agenda. From 2012, the leading countries in Europe will play proper three-Test series against the SANZAR giants, plus Argentina, while also returning to the Pacific Islands and even Japan.

In the case of sporting conflict, familiarity so often breeds tedium, which is exactly why pleas for Lions tours to become more frequent have been rightly ignored. Scarcity is part of the appeal.

England will get the ball rolling with a series in South Africa and it will have the feel of a Lions expedition.

A series also gives time for sub-plots and dramas and conflicts to emerge and evolve.

Reviving proper tours in June may be a nod to nostalgia, but the move is founded on commercial imperatives, too, as crowds and revenues are down for these June matches, which are too often one-sided.

With midweek games thrown in it allows fringe players to stay involved and the whole exercise will hold a greater sense of resonance and purpose.

In Europe, attendances and bank balances are well catered for during the November Test window, but proper series would be an improvement then, too.

On the flip-side, when a true contest materialises, as was the case last summer when France won a Test in Dunedin and New Zealand hit back in Wellington, 1-1 is not a satisfactory conclusion. It was crying out for a decider.

This is where the familiarity argument kicks in. Back in the day, a visit by the All Blacks was a major event, but now that mystique and air of expectation has been somewhat eroded by regularity. They have come to Twickenham during the last four years of autumn internationals.

A real series would carry more weight than the endless round of one-off Tests. England could play the likes of Fiji or Samoa at the start of November, followed by a three-Test series against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa or Argentina.

In the interests of expansion, the RFU could take one match each year to the provinces - to Old Trafford, Villa Park or St James’ Park.

The public don’t moan about repetition during an Ashes series, which comes to these shores once every four years.

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Olly Barkley last night backed Martin Johnson's demand that the England rugby squad behave themselves on tour next month.

Johnson wasted no time yesterday in issuing a stark warning of the "pitfalls" which potentially lie await for them off the field on a five-match mission to Australia and New Zealand.

It will be England's first trip Down Under since the 2008 tour to New Zealand when allegations of serious sexual assault were made against four of the squad.

"In the world we live in there are pitfalls, some can be put there deliberately, some are just the pitfalls that young guys face when they're out and about in big cities

"We'll be together for three and a half weeks in hostile territory, staying in different hotels and city centre locations," he said. "There will be distractions and potential areas to get embroiled in so we'll need to be smart and look after each other.

No formal complaint was made in 2008 against the so-called Auckland Four of Danny Care, David Strettle, Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown, whom NZ police sought to interview over claims made by an 18-year-old woman.

"I don't think they will be targets but this is the world we live in. People have cameras on their phones these days."

But Barkley acknowledges that the whole episode was a wake-up call and that it is vital no-one invites embarrassment onto the tour this time.

Indeed, an RFU inquiry found no evidence of any such incident having taken place - though it did adjudge Ojo and Brown guilty of misconduct for staying out all night.

"The management and the players are confident we will all adhere to that.

"We've put the 2008 issue behind us and there's now a code of conduct in place," said a player who has had his own off-field problems in the past.

The difference between this one and the last is that Johnson will be with it every step of the way. In 2008 he stayed home to await the birth of his second child and in his absence chaos ensued.

"The big thing is if you don't you compromise not only the squad but the individuals involved as well. That's the last thing anyone wants to do to a tour that we're all so positive about."

At Twickenham yesterday he left nobody in any doubt that he will be on top of matters in Perth and in Sydney and across the Tasman Sea in Napier.

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The Rugby Football Union and Team England Rugby have settled a players' payment dispute ahead of the upcoming tour to Australia and New Zealand.

An independent third party was called in to settle the dispute and the RFU and TER have accepted their recommendations ahead of the opening clash against the Barbarians in Perth on June 8.

Martin Johnson's men face two friendlies with Australia Barbarians and two Tests against Australia before making a trip to take on New Zealand Maori in Napier in June, but the tour looked in doubt after the two groups failed to find some common ground over payments for the 44-man squad.

However, the finer details of the players' payments will not be made known to the public.

A basic tour fee of £7,800 was thought to have been offered with an extra £5,000 on offer for every man that made Johnson's squad of 22 for the two Tests against Australia with the other half of his squad receiving no extra incentives.

"Both sides met today with the independent third party appointed to review the situation, and accepted their recommendations.

A joint statement made by the RFU and TER read: "The Rugby Football Union and Team England Rugby are pleased to announce that they have resolved all the outstanding issues over tour payments for the elite player squad for the tour to Australia and New Zealand.

"The details of the final resolution remain confidential and will not be disclosed by either party."

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Fai Mika hopes a move to Tasman will catapult him into the Samoan reckoning for next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Mika who made 29 appearances for Southland since debuting in 2007 will head north tomorrow after transferring to Tasman on a one-year deal.

The versatile 29-year-old, who can play both sides of the scrum, has struggled for regular starting opportunities with the Stags behind Highlanders props Jamie Mackintosh and Chris King.

He was optimistic the shift to the Makos would see him gain more playing time as he looks to crack the Manu Samoa squad for the first time.

"It's a big move, but one I'm really excited about," Mika told The Southland Times yesterday.

"I've always wanted to try out for the Samoan boys. It's a matter of getting game time. I went to the (Samoan) trials a couple of months ago and they said they had heard of me, but never seen me play."

Tasman have been big improvers in the Air New Zealand Cup in recent seasons and Mika said he was excited about the chance to bolster their propping stocks.

Mika will play his club rugby for Waimea, in Nelson, and was looking to play his first match in the next few weeks.

He said it was extremely difficult to be leaving Southland at a time when the union was on a massive high after winning the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in 50 years late last year.

"It is sad, but it's also exciting ... It's hard to beat that Ranfurly Shield. It's unreal. I still get shivers up my spine just thinking about it."

Southland appear to be pretty well covered in the front row, with rising talents like Micheal Peterson and Nic Barrett expected to play more of a role in the Stags squad this season. Mika predicted that both players had big futures ahead of them.

Rugby Southland boss Roger Clark said Mika had been a fantastic servant for the province.

"He's done a really good job. There's a lot of history there, too, with his brother. We've got plenty of props. It's a win-win situation."

Clark felt the time was right for Peterson and Barrett to make the step up to Air New Zealand Cup level.

"We've got two local boys, who are raring to go. They're both very good players ... We're not in the business of hoarding people."

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Andy Robinson would chop off both his arms and eat them in return for Scotland beating England tomorrow. He might not need to.

He has more than a fighting chance too, even if his team is rock bottom of the Six Nations table on zero points and an attack more constipated than England's.

Scotland have just lost to Italy, not scored a try in four of their last five games and their ace goal kicker Chris Paterson is injured.

They're staring at the Wooden Spoon and, in all probability, a humiliating whitewash if they lose this one as they finish up playing Ireland at Croke Park.

England's inability to score tries is well known but against Ireland they showed they can't stop them either.

So what do they do? Drop Lewis Moody, their best player this season, and again ignore Ben Foden, the one guy with the form to make something happen.

What is attack coach Brian Smith doing? He's supposed to be the left-field thinker on England's coaching staff.

Left-field? He's further right than Margaret Thatcher. England don't change their angles any more in the back line. There's no running off the ball, no change of direction. They don't even do simple switches any more.

His strategy must be to try and wear Scotland down for an hour and then send on Moody, Foden, Ben Youngs and Courtney Lawes to raise the tempo through the roof.

Problem is I reckon England will be in a hole by then. I take Scotland, with their impressive back row, to be ahead after an hour.

And history shows Murrayfield after dark, with all the passion Scotland fans bring to this fixture, is no place to be chasing a game.

Never before have I gone into a rugby game between England and Scotland thinking that Scotland will win. This is the first time.

So how do England go about keeping the smirk off Robbo's face? They can start by kicking a million times better.

Play with more tempo and more ambition, look after the ball and actually back themselves to beat people. In short, show some courage.

One player did that in the last game, Jonny Wilkinson. How on earth he came in for criticism I just don't know. He was England's best back by a country mile.

People need to look either side of him. Riki Flutey went completely missing against Ireland, Danny Care was not much better. He takes three steps and passes with his shoulders closed to the opposition so he never pulls the fringes in.

I would play Shontayne Hape at inside-centre and instruct him to be within five metres of Jonny at all times.

Jonny would then have someone to draw the focus off him, a big presence to beat people, to provide a change of angle and who Jonny can offload to under pressure.

But England haven't done that. I can only think Johnno has given these players a final warning. Deliver now or it's adios. If he hasn't he'd better get a move on.

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England's latest rugby captain Lewis Moody insisted on Friday he would not compromise his playing style despite his new-found responsibility.

The Leicester flanker was named as skipper for Saturday's Six Nations match against France in Paris after Steve Borthwick was ruled out with a knee injury.

Moody, known as 'Mad Dog', became the first Englishman to be sent off at Twickenham when he was dismissed against Samoa in 2005.

But the backrower, also renowned as one of the bravest players in the game, has vowed not to change his all-action style.

"It is just another game for me - for me it is all about playing," Moody told reporters at England's training base in Surrey.

"The most important part of being captain is playing the game. It is not going to change me in any way whatsoever.

"I am not going to talk more than I have done - I am just going to play the way I do and hope that is enough."

Moody has captained his club side Leicester on a handful of occasions but is adamant his inexperience in the role will not be a handicap at Stade de France.

Moody who has won 60 caps and played in two World Cup finals, including England's win over Australia in 2003, was dropped for last week's 15-15 draw with Scotland at Murrayfield.

A week later he finds himself captain as England attempt to derail France's hopes of a Grand Slam.

"It is part of professional sport, they make the decisions and as players we have to go with it. I couldn't be happier about it after last week," he added.

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