Scrappy disposal of Argentina's soft centre

Whether the sheltering classes would have been this tolerant if the allegations of ticket laundering had surfaced before instead of after the game is less certain.

Not even the advance-guard appearance of good old Jason Leonard in expectation of his record cap might have saved them then. Professionalism has never sat easily in Rugbyshire. So there will be zero tolerance out there now if it does transpire that the players have been busy scamming the best seats.

Under the confused ethos of shamateurism, there used to be a turning of the collective eye-patch to any tendency for hard-up players to cash in on their ticket allocation.

But they can't have it both ways. Either they are union workers who demand a fair day's pay for a hard day's play or they are exploited heroes who can hardly be blamed for pinching a few scraps from the rich man's table.

No-one is going to feel comfortable these days - not even the corporate moneybags - if they are caught paying over the odds for players' tickets.

Certainly not when the best that could be said for the England team this weekend is that they were fairly professional.

Luckily for them they were not playing Australia or South Africa on this very particular Saturday. Their assertion that all the unrest was behind them and it was full steaming tackle ahead for England was exposed as a pretence.

They gave away more penalties in the first quarter than traffic wardens on the run-up to Christmas and proceeded thereafter to play with less creativity than a bulldozer in a parking lot.

If their minds were fully focused on the day job, they didn't show it and that would not augur well for the coming Test against South Africa. The reality, to paraphrase their manager, is that this was a scrappy end to a week of scrapping.

Clive Woodward acknowledged the paucity of the rugby and recognised the reason for it, blaming everything on everyone, including himself. But Woodward is an emotional man not afraid to show his feelings in public and none the worse for that. In fact, it may help heal a few rifts.

Leonard, bless him, was less concerned with setting a new benchmark for England appearances than with the re-bonding process, saying with a smile: 'Clive wears his heart on his sleeve and we have no problem with that.'

Nor will the public. Far from it. Those who bought their Argentina tickets at face value will be reassured to hear that there is more passion raging through the England camp than was visible in this dirge of a sequel to the climactic conquest of Australia's world champions a week earlier.

England now need not only to rediscover their pride in full but also to find the cutting edge of flair which might transform their formidable efficiency into a World Cup-winning pedigree.

From this week on, they are a team not only in need of integrity but in search of imagination. But what England required above all else on Saturday was a win.

Thus the loudest jeer went up when it was announced yet again that the bars at Twickenham are under orders to remain closed after the final whistle.

At the end of a week and a game like that, the least these loyal supporters deserved was a drink.