Matt Dawson column: Fans will be chuffed with England's new style - and it's here to stay

The English rugby public will be chuffed to bits that their team have found their style.

There is a huge amount to build on for England but they have found a way to play which suits not only the players in the squad but the whole Premiership.

After the first two wins over Italy and Wales, we gave them the benefit of the doubt in the hope they would get us off our seats and make us enjoy watching them because we didn't necessarily see that style.

But as soon as they switched in those two weeks after the Scotland defeat, first edging out Ireland and then almost beating France, there is just no doubt this is the England we are going to see going forward.

They were very quick to realise the tactics they deployed against France in the first half were probably not going to win the game.

Maybe in games gone by they would have kept on doing the same as they did against the Scots with their box-kicking, but in Lyon, they were points down and still trying to win the game.

The players and the coaches have realised they definitely have the personnel and the individual skill, and now they have the intent to compete against anyone.

They have no right to win any game but they took France to the wire and the result easily could have gone the other way.

I'm very pleased for the whole camp. They have designed their style and been able to go out and deliver it in really tough environments.

I can only imagine the players are going to be very excited about getting back together, rather than perhaps in previous years, when it's been great to be in an England camp, but 'how are we going to play?'

They now have complete clarity in who they are and how they want to play.

Both sides in the first half were playing the kicking game but when it was on for France they unleashed the fury with turnover ball.

They were not interested in anything other than ripping England apart in broken field. England didn't seem to have that attacking intent at all.

They were going through multi phases with George Ford sitting in the pocket and punting the ball long or high up and Alex Mitchell box-kicking.

It was like England were waiting for a mistake until Ollie Lawrence ran through the France midfield.

It was a great set-up but it was his line of running and footwork which gave Lawrence a stroll under the posts. It was a big move because France were going through the gears and going in 16-3 at half-time.

All of a sudden it's 16-10 and you're buoyed up ready to go and, as we saw in the second half, England came out of the blocks quickly by making a lot of good decisions.

It wasn't just execution by the individuals, they were breaking France down and stretching them well. They weren't just running up blind alleys.

There is absolutely no question in my mind that the likes of Jamie George and Ford, in particular, have had a conversation between themselves along the lines of, 'we haven't got that much longer in an England jersey, how are we going to go out?'.

They have played in the same sort of team with loads of their mates and got to a World Cup final, and played in big games but 'have we really maximised our potential?'

They are two bright guys and seem to have good common sense away from rugby as well. They have probably had a moment and taken that to the coaches to say there is another way to do it.

It's maybe not right or wrong, it's just another way.

The coaches have changed selection, tweaked their approach and changed the intent because you can see, when they are in that groove, that is the way the team want to play.

They look like a team embracing the quality of individuals they are training and playing with and it is incredibly refreshing to see before facing Japan and New Zealand in the summer.

It's a tremendous achievement by Ireland to retain their title and they were a whisker away from back-to-back Grand Slams.

They were pre-tournament favourites and have come out from the World Cup better than anybody else, but I'm not convinced the gap between them and everyone else is as big as is made out.

We looked at that France v Ireland game at the beginning of the tournament as the two big guns in the northern hemisphere but maybe they weren't as good as we all thought they were going to be.

Ireland were clinical against Italy but otherwise they have had to graft and win playing within themselves. It shows their quality that they are still winning and it will be fascinating to see how they get on down in South Africa in the summer.

The Springboks will be licking their lips with everyone talking about Ireland being the best side in the world. It is very difficult to improve when you're high up in the rankings but everybody is spending a lot of time trying to work Ireland out.

As much as we should be applauding Ireland, I think Italy also deserve a special mention.

You just felt Gonzalo Quesada was a good fit as their new head coach from the start of the tournament. He was not just a name as an experienced former player but look at the way he has coached other teams and understands the game.

From where Italy have been before to finding another 1-2% has made a massive difference. The players haven't changed significantly, a few have come in, but it is starting to make sense to them and it's being directed in a way which seems to correlate with Italian rugby.

You saw moments in the first game against England and they were breeding confidence. They were no longer the perennial underachievers and the confidence was starting to ooze out of Italy and make them more dangerous.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Mantej Mann.