Goode's selection shows limited ambition

It clearly did not take long for Martin Johnson to be worn down by the pressure of the England manager's job – his selection of Andy Goode at fly-half illustrates that perfectly.

Maybe if it was a Grand Slam decider against Wales, going for the sensible option would be understandable.

But this is Italy at home in the first match of the championship.

Of course this England team needs experience but I would like to have to seen one of the young up-and-coming fly-halves like Shane Geraghty or Danny Cipriani picked. This just looks like a team that has been picked to win a one-off game and not a lot else.

I am not saying Andy Goode is not a good player, but he is not going to lead us into a bright new era or anything like that.

England are basically saying they can't trust their youngsters to beat Italy – and that is not a good sign.

I think England will win fairly comfortably, but my confidence does not stretch to the rest of the Six Nations for them. This is probably the most competitive championship ever and the only team I would rule out of title contention at this stage is Italy.

Wales are the Grand Slam champions, Ireland have a settled side and Scotland may just surprise a few people yet.

England have got to be better than in recent games, but they can never be ruled out – and it's the same with France. Who can honestly say they know what they are going to get from the French during the next month or two?

It all sets it up for a very exciting five weekends of rugby.