Andy Gomarsall Axed England scrum-half

The win over Ireland was a great way for England to finish the RBS Six Nations, and a fantastic response after the misery of the Scotland game.

But I think the Six Nations as a whole has to be seen as a missed opportunity. I think it was a case of one step forward, two steps back, to be honest.

After the World Cup we wanted to really kick on and become the best team in the world again.

Some of Danny Cipriani's touches were sheer class

Lessons will have to be learned for England to move forward, but there is a lot to be positive about.

The new agreement between the RFU and the clubs (which gives England better access to their players) comes in next season and then there really will be no excuses.

Unfortunately, English rugby has had too many excuses to use in recent years but this new agreement should benefit the players massively and there is plenty to build on.

The Ireland game is definitely a performance that England can use as a base. I had us down to win but not by such an emphatic margin.

The contrast in the performances between Scotland and Ireland was enormous. The guys had a lot more energy and did the business against an Ireland team that, on paper, looked very strong.

England had a lot more purpose - there was not any confusion about what each player's job was. And there was a brilliant performance from the whole pack. Danny Cipriani spoke about it as well in his post-match interview, but I will try to keep my comments suitable for a family audience!

Danny was right though - the forwards did do a very good job. But my concern would be that other teams know that is one of our main strengths.

606: DEBATE Andrew simply cannot admit to his bosses that his decision to keep Ashton et al on was a mistake VT

We need a balance to our game to ensure we have somewhere to go if our forwards are just getting parity rather than dominating. We need that X-factor out wide and I think Danny offered that on Saturday.

Some of his touches were sheer class, like when he put Jamie Noon through on a beautiful running line in the first half.

Jamie will run that line all day long, but it was Danny's skill that deceived the opposition and gave Jamie a one-on-one rather than several tacklers in his face.

Quite honestly, England are not a million miles away from producing really good performances on a consistent basis. The talent is there, and it looks like Brian Ashton is starting to use it, which is great.

We have to look to the New Zealand tour now and England are going to need all the talent they can find, because the All Blacks have it in abundance.

Fair play to Brian Ashton - he has stuck to his guns

Obviously, there has been a lot of talk about Brian in the last few weeks. At times it has felt like this was a management competition rather than a rugby tournament, such has been the media focus on the coaches.

I think Brian deserves to stay. Brian is trying so hard to get England back on track, and the constant scrutiny he is under certainly does not help him or England.

Under the circumstances he has done a hell of a job.

One minute he is a hero for taking us to the World Cup final or beating France in Paris, the next he is being castigated for a flat performance against Scotland.

The vultures that are circling need to look at what he has achieved.

Given where we were just a couple of years ago, we would have bitten off your hand if we had been offered a place in the World Cup final and second place in the Six Nations.

Fair play to him - he has stuck to his guns despite being under a huge amount of pressure and with new talent coming through the future can be very bright. I do not think there needs to be any immediate shake-up or change.

As regards the dynamics of the management team, it is not up to me to decide on that. I am sure the post-Six Nations review will look into that side of things but I do think Brian got thrown into the job without being able to pick his own management team.

Warren Gatland has had the chance to do that with Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley and the results of that are as plain as day.

On a personal note, there is no question of me throwing in the towel as far as England is concerned.

The last couple of years have been a huge period in my career and I am just looking forward to enjoying my rugby again. The end of my career is not too far off given that I am 33 but I have got another year in me - possibly more, we will have to see.

Andy Gomarsall was talking to BBC Sport's Phil Harlow