In the cold light of day, looking back at England's win over Samoa on Saturday, you have to say it was a bit of a mixed bag. However, there was an over-riding sense of relief and pleasure from both fans and the players themselves that they had come through the first of their massive tests against the South Sea teams.

Before the game, I think any of us would have taken a 22-point victory, a bonus point win and a performance where the positives certainly outweighed the negatives.

Indeed, the major plus from Nantes was that England showed a lot more composure and an ability to change the course of a game when the pressure was on, a trait hitherto unseen from this side in the tournament. This was nowhere more evident than early in the second half when Samoa were camped on the try line, four points in arrears, but England defended stoutly, started getting the scoreboard ticking again and ultimately prevailed.

With Paul Sackey's wonderful try capping a good victory, the body language afterwards was very telling and a huge contrast to the grim faces of a week earlier. You could see the English guys waiting for the Samoans to do their lap of honour, there were smiles all round and a feeling that from here they can build, look forward to this week's crucial clash with Tonga and potentially a mouthwatering match up against Australia in Marseille.

The way England have played in this Rugby World Cup has left no room for respite or margin for error. We were lucky in 2003 to have a game against Uruguay which, with no disrespect, was one where you could smile and enjoy yourself. This time around, it has been a case of knock-out rugby all the way and you can't afford not to be totally focused on every 80 minutes. Tomorrow night will be no different, it's a 'winner-takes-all' full-blooded game of rugby with an ultimate prize of a quarter-final at stake.

Brian Ashton has chosen to rest Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley with a view to freshening them up for possible tests to come. Captain Phil Vickery also misses out on a starting spot, with Matt Stevens keeping his place in the front row. I think at this stage it is virtually a no-brainer to keep Phil on the bench and ease him into some game time. Stevens has been an able deputy in his absence and the bigger decision between the two will be next weekend - if England qualify.

Otherwise, the selection is all about keeping the core of the side together, especially the pivotal 9-10-12 combination. At scrum half, Andy Gomarsall was absolutely instrumental in driving our performance last week with his control at the base, his constant drive and excellent distribution. Now Wilkinson and Barkley need to get minutes together and start to bring out the best of the wide players. Instead of throwing long, flat passes standing still, they must occasionally conserve space closer to the scrum, work two quick passes and then free those outside them, particularly Matthew Tait, who we've not seen the best of yet.

Tonga have the ability to surprise the 'big boys', as they proved against a second-string South African side last week. Owing to less time together than other nations, they possibly lack the technical finesse in some areas of the game, particularly the line out, but they have players who are supercharged on confidence at the moment and ready to derail the English.

Precision is the watchword this week, and Corry's men will need to work the phases, look after the ball and then I am confident the scores will come.

Scotland, Ireland and Wales are also all involved in potential knock-out matches. I expect a tremendous final stage of the pools to decide the line-ups for four epic quarter-finals.