Bill Bridge: Display in defeat suggests the worst may be over for Johnson's line-up

PARIS in the Springtime did not yield, as some of us dared imagine, a surprise victory for England to round off quite the most dismal Six Nations' Championship in memory.

But it at least provided us with a hint of hope, a reason to look forward to next season and next year's Rugby World Cup with optimism rather than foreboding.

There was nothing to get over-excited about, rather a suggestion that a corner has not so much been turned as identified by the driver; England are no longer clattering into brick walls.

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The quality of Saturday evening's performance, highlighted by the exquisite try from Ben Foden which proved once again the point made to those of us introduced to the game as children – the ball travels faster than the individual – was at a higher level than anything produced in their preceding matches.

Quick ball, good handling, a willingness to run at spaces rather than opponents and a freshness of approach all made for an occasion in which, even in defeat, there was enjoyment. There was even the odd roar of approval from the settee for Mike Tindall, the pride of Otley and a man whose international days seemed over.

He was one of several England successes; Toby Flood was another at fly-half and Joe Worsley and Lewis Moody were effective in the back row. But what was most revealing was the willingness – absent for far too long – to move the ball.

There were times those in white looked nothing like any previous team sent out by Martin Johnson, apart from that which, coincidentally, hammered France last season.

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One match does not make up for all the woes of winter. England still have far to go; their scrum was an embarrassment, Steve Borthwick was badly missed in the line-out (though not for his leadership, or lack of it); youngsters like Foden, Danny Care and Chris Ashton need much more experience before they are true Test players; too many penalties are conceded; there is still no discernible game plan.

But perhaps the worst is over; the mixture of battle-hardened old lags and a sprinkling of bright-eyed, fleet-footed youngsters might need a little adjustment yet but the possibilities are there. If only we had a few more of the latter…

DEFEAT at Old Trafford yesterday may not quite have ended Liverpool's quest for a place in the Premier League's top four come the end of the season but it will have been a severe setback for the money-men at Anfield as they desperately search for investors willing to hand over 100m for a stake in the club.

Liverpool need the money before mid-summer if they are to persuade their banks to restructure their debt and any investor would need the guarantee of qualification for the Champions League next season before dipping into his pocket.

Even with the bonus of a superb fifth-minute goal from

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Fernando Torres, Liverpool were unable yesterday to stamp their authority on the game and that has been their problem all season: they do not play as we have come to know Liverpool teams play down the decades since Bill Shankly moved across the Pennines from Huddersfield and began a footballing dynasty.

There are several arguments as to why Liverpool have under-performed since that magical night in Istanbul when they overhauled AC Milan and won the European Cup on penalties.

Some say Rafael Benitez has – Torres apart – bought badly; others blame the manager for not doing more to hang on to Xabi Alonso; there is a theory that the off-field worries have percolated to the dressing room; another that key players like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have lost faith in their manager.

It may be that Gerrard himself is at the core of his club's woes. He figured only fleetingly yesterday and looked like a man not happy in his work.

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Thoughts which only a few months ago would have been considered treasonable on Merseyside are gaining in popularity. The impossible – Liverpool selling Gerrard – might just happen this summer.

HINDSIGHT is a wonderful thing and those of us who suffered a terrible beating over the four days of the Cheltenham Festival did not have our wounds healed so much as a smidgeon by being told that we should have taken heed of Haydock.

It was on the Lancashire course, you may remember, that Imperial Commander ran the great Kauto Star to within an inch or so of victory earlier this season and had done nothing in the run-up to Cheltenham to suggest he was not capable of a similar effort at Prestbury Park.

So it was obvious, wasn't it, that he was a wonderful each-way bet for the Gold Cup itself? Not to those who cannot see, it wasn't.

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We did not lose on the race – an each-way touch on Denman once he went out to 9-2 meant no further damage was done to the national debt – but Imperial Commander, in improving on his Haydock run, made many of us look fools.

Never mind, it will all come right at Aintree.

and another thing...

QUITE what the paying guests of Augusta National Golf Club are going to shout in encouragement of the returning Tiger is one of many issues in circulation since the great one announced that he would soon be back among us.

"You're the man" hardly sounds appropriate given the circumstances while some of the others – not to be mentioned in this context in a family newspaper – will surely be frowned upon by the stewards employed to do the bidding of the men in green jackets and those from Tiger's manipulative back office.

Anyone transgressing and causing a frown to cross Mr Woods's visage will be escorted from the premises and told never to return

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You can be sure, too, that any journalist who dares to mention anything other than Tiger's round of golf, the beautiful weather and the warmth of the reception from the good ol' folk of Georgia will be bundled from the room and told never to drive down Magnolia Avenue again.