Have your say: Calcutta Cup foundations were laid in Leeds – England coach Lancaster

The former Leeds player and coach has been a breath of fresh air since succeeding Martin Johnson as interim head coach in December.

His Yorkshire training camp, guest speakers, influx of young hungry players and hard-line approach with misbehaving squad members all laid the foundations of hope among fans.

And his team delivered on that promise on Saturday with a performance and a victory that suggests the dark days of the World Cup are behind them and that England are headed towards a bright future.

Yorkshireman Charlie Hodgson scored the only try and Owen Farrell, one of three Red Rose debutants thrust into the Murrayfield cauldron by Lancaster, added eight points with the boot as a defensively-dominant England edged the latest instalment of the oldest rivalry in rugby 13-6.

Lancaster said: “I always believed after the World Cup there was an opportunity to start again with a new group of players. The time is now to build a new team.

“I always believed it was the right thing to do and if you looked at the age profile of that World Cup squad, there’s probably a lot of post-32 players so it needed to happen.

“This is only one game and it’s a five-game tournament so we’ll see how we get on next week.

“We saw a lot of what we did in Leeds out there on the field.

“If we hadn’t built the foundations the way that we did, even though it was only in a short space of time, I don’t think we’d have got the kind of performance or the level of commitment from the team.

“You still hear the players talk about it, talking about things the speakers said.

“I think it did all add up to the building blocks of building this team.”

Lancaster has applied for the permanent head coach’s role that will be filled after the Six Nations.

But the impressive facelift he has given English rugby, which has now been justified by a first win at Murrayfield in eight years, will have done the interim head coach’s chances no harm.

However, Lancaster is looking only one game ahead.

“The only thing I’ve been focusing on is getting the team ready to come to Murrayfield and win,” said Lancaster, whose side next travel to Rome to face Italy.

“This is only stage one.

“But it gives you confidence that you’re going in the right direction and also it gives you a reference point to move on from in terms of our performance.

“The extent of our preparation has been a training game against Leeds Met University, so we had no reference.

“Now we know where we’re at, we know what areas we’ve got to work on, so it will help us going forward in that regard.

“But Italy is a completely different game.

“You learn from every game. As important as the game for me is the review process and the lessons that you learn which helps you take the next step.

“Win, lose or draw you’re always learning. When you’ve got a new group together that’s only trained together for 10 days there’s a lot to learn.

“What I did learn was about character and about our ability to work hard for each other which confirmed what I thought.

“I’ve worked with fast-forming teams before, like the Saxons, where you meet on a Monday and play on a Saturday. I know from that experience it’s achievable to get a standard of performance but we recognise that the standard of performance has to be better next week and beyond.

“But I never doubted it was achievable.”

On a personal level, it was a very gratifying day’s work for a 42-year-old who was largely unheard of outside rugby union circles when he accepted the job.

“I felt responsibility,” he said of the build-up to the game.

“Given the fact that we were taking over a group that before Christmas were struggling, there was a pressure to put in a performance.

“Hopefully we’ve given people at home a chance to cheer England rugby.

“I come from grass-roots rugby. I’ve been a teacher and have worked with junior sides.

“It’s amazing the amount of support I received for the team from people at home who watch the game in rugby clubhouses and on telly.

“And you wanted something for them to cheer about because it’s been a long time since the France game (October 8) and there’s not been much to smile about.”

Chris Robshaw, who embodied Lancaster’s brave new world by being handed the captaincy despite having only one cap to his name, said: “Everyone who made their debut was outstanding and with this experience they will only get better.

“It was a tremendous effort from all of the guys.

“Everyone defended for their lives and it showed how proud we are to play for each other and how proud we are to play for England.”

Lancaster’s assistant Andy Farrell added: “Throughout the whole two weeks we have talked in particular about culture.

“We saw that culture in the last 20 minutes.

“The way we scrambled back and fought for one another was there for all to see.”