Robinson praises England's attack

England coach Andy Robinson praised the staying power and attitude of his players following the 46-19 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.

Robinson saw his experimental team - a combination of experience and youth - run in six tries against the star-studded opposition.

"It was a good performance," he said.

"The thing that impressed us all was the work rate and attitude the players have shown.

"At the end of a long season, they have trained hard and in the last 30 minutes I was pretty pleased with the way the attack came together."

It was a winning start for Robinson's new backroom team of Brian Ashton, Mike Ford and John Wells and Robinson said: "Brian's come in and started to really challenge the players and challenge the thinking.

"That ability to make decisions anywhere on the pitch is really important, along with the execution."

Ashton, who only returned to the England set-up from Bath last week, said: "There's a lot of work to be done with them but they continued to try and play throughout the game.

"I thought we kept our shape pretty well and when their defence started to tire a bit we scored tries in a variety of ways."

But Ashton insists there is a lot more improvement to come.

"It was encouraging," he said. "But we need to be a little bit sharper with the lines in the backs and be a little bit more threatening in the centre of the field to release the guys on the outside with a bit more space. But for a first hit, it was okay."

Robinson praised the leadership qualities of skipper Pat Sanderson, the Worcester Warriors flank who excelled playing out of position at number eight.

"He led the side really well and earned the respect of everyone in the team with his performance," said the head coach.

Looking ahead to the build-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France where England will be attempting to retain their title, attack coach Ashton is convinced he has something to build on.

"I think the raw material is there but it's going to take some hard work on both sides - myself and the players," he said.

"If you look at the players who are available I think there are some very interesting possibilities."

Barbarians coach Bob Dwyer paid tribute to England after his team had suffered a record defeat in fixtures against the world champions.

"I was very impressed with their enthusiasm and their desire, which are very important qualities," said the Australian.

"I thought they played pretty well and they put us to the sword in the last 20 minutes when we ran out of steam.

"They have got a number of players to be added to their squad from the Premiership final between Sale and Leicester yesterday, which will add to their strength and depth."

England head to Australia on Sunday and although the Wallabies will start as favourites, Dwyer believes England will relish the challenge that lies ahead.

"We thought that England might be a little apprehensive today, but we struggled to get on top early in the game, although I thought we were still in it at half-time," he added.