Jeremy Guscott: Hold onto your hats for a humdinger!

Owen Farrell will rightly get the headlines for his latest incarnation as England’s Iceman. But he will also be the first to acknowledge that his ability to perform to such a superb standard was laid on by the eight-man pack in front of him.
I’ve been banging on about how England’s success against the All Blacks came about thanks to fast ball, how the forwards have to clear the rucks and deliver speedy possession to the scrum half. They did this yesterday in fantastic fashion and with Ben Youngs doing his job quickly and simply as he used to do 18 months ago – before he started arguing with referees and taking too many steps – the ball was often laid on a velvet cushion for Farrell.
And how well did Farrell and his backline use it. The simple stats tell us that England attacked the gain line with success 67 times against Scotland’s 21.
They offloaded 19 times to Scotland’s eight and made 11 clean breaks to their opponents’ three.
These are the sort of numbers that add up to real success on a rugby field and will give England heart and momentum for the challenges ahead in this great Championship.
We all felt a bit of a niggle going into this game after the heroics of the All Blacks game. Could England reproduce that form, was it a one-off fantasy that would fade in the cold light of the Scottish challenge?
But no, here was an England team playing with ball in hand and displaying the kind of relentless attacking drive we have been craving.
No one epitomised that more than Farrell and debutant Billy Twelvetrees.
Farrell played flat to the gain line. He may not possess the toe to get through a gap, but the opposition also know that the one time they ignore him he probaby will go for it, so playing that close to the line keeps them honest and allows him to bring his backs into play.
He passes and kicks beautifully. He is nerveless when planting those penalties between the sticks and his long-range pass for Jeff Parling’s try was simply sublime.
It was a Rugby League-style pass and I can picture him and his dad Andy throwing the ball like that in their back garden when Owen was growing up.
In fact, we saw two superb passes yesterday, that monster from Owen and the far-shorter, yet devastatingly deft, one from Brian O’Driscoll which put Simon Zebo over for Ireland against Wales.
Outside Farrell, Twelvetrees had the kind of debut you can only dream about. He had 15 carries, made 62 yards and scored a try.
So what do we do if Manu Tuilagi is fully fit next week as the Irish hove into view in Dublin? Well, that’s what coaches get paid good money to decide and Stuart Lancaster has a track record of bringing players back from injury via the bench.
I also do not believe in changing a winning team…but we are talking about Tuilagi who has nailed 20 per cent of the 45 tries England have scored in their last 17 games.
So, with apologies to Brad Barritt who did all that was asked of him yesterday, I would play Twelvetrees and Tuilagi together against Ireland.
Tuilagi would also offer a real threat to O’Driscoll who will be anxious to further advance his case to be made Lions captain. I recall BOD had a torrid time against French centre Mathieu Bastareaud a few years ago and Tuilagi is from the same blockbuster mould.  It might suit Lancaster to unsettle the great Irishman.
Talking of captains, England’s own Chris Robshaw had another  outstanding game. He again got through an enormous amount of work, leading by example for the full 80 m inutes.
He has a silent authority. He is not a man to  shout and holler, but he makes very few errors and gives away very few penalties. That allows him to make his points from a position  of strength. If you are messing up yourself it is difficult to hand out reprimands to those around you.  Robshaw, Wood and Morgan, before he went off, conducted their business with superb efficiency and the minimum of fuss. They won’t get the headlines but their contribution was nonethless immense.
Another nugget from the game involved prop Joe Marler.  He got possession of the ball and whereas in days gone by he would have put his head down and crashed forwards, this time he passed to Joe Launchbury and the move ended with Chris Ashton scoring.
Earlier in the day, we saw a wonderful match in Cardiff and all that before the French take to the field in Rome today.
Already, though, Ireland-England is looking like the clash of the Titans. One thing is certain, rugby is being played the way I like it and we look to be in for one humdinger of a Six Nations.