A FEW short years ago, expressing satisfaction with a 21-point England defeat would have been unthinkable.

But that is just how I felt at Twickenham yesterday after watching England lose to New Zealand.

The match showed how far the world champions have fallen since their 2003 triumph in Australia and how much they must improve if they are to challenge again in 2007.

Despite the obvious gulf between the sides, I tend to agree with head coach Andy Robinson that there were some positives to reflect on.

England were never outmuscled by the All Blacks, who tellingly sought safety in the kicking prowess of Daniel Carter after spending much of the second half on the back foot.

Scrum half Shaun Perry looked the best of the three debutants, but none of them were overawed.

Perry thoroughly deserved his try for an industrious display and must now get a run in the side.

Gloucester centre Anthony Allen gifted Joe Rokocoko a simple try with a speculative first-half pass that he should not have attempted.

He could have gone to pieces after that, but he kept running and taking the hits in midfield.

Many felt Paul Sackey's kicking and defensive weaknesses would be exposed, but he emerged from the clash with plenty of character.

One moment stood out, in particular, when he was in the right place to take an up and under and then launch a clearance into the Kiwi half.

The much-maligned duo of Jamie Noon and Ben Cohen both bagged tries and the former had another harshly denied by the video referee.

Neither were exposed in defence and while we may like to see open, flowing rugby, England will never be able to ape the All Blacks' flair game.

Up front Andrew Sheridan, George Chuter and Julian White held their own, while captain Martin Corry gained vital yardage at blindside flanker.

On the flip side, England gave away too many penalties, although perhaps only Carter in international rugby would fancy himself from the half-way line.

Carter's try came almost directly from an England drop-out and caught the defence flat-footed.

This showed a weakness in concentration you were unlikely to see under Clive Wodward and Martin Johnson.

I gave my England man-of-the-match to Cohen, who rose above his poor form for Northampton, although Perry was a close second.

Had Josh Lewsey and Mark Cueto been fit, Cohen may not have played and he needs more than one solid game to convince his doubters.

But when you consider how little we saw of Rico Gear on the Kiwi side, you realise Cohen deserves a lot of credit.

Robinson said afterwards: "Those ten minutes before half-time cost us.

"I'm hugely disappointed about losing a game of rugby, make no mistake about that.

"I'm more so hugely encouraged by the way the team has prepared and performed in parts today."

It is sad that England have sunk to the level where they lose six games in a row.

But this display, in front of a Twickenham record crowd of 82, 076, showed there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

England performance: 7/10

Best bit: Cohen's try, which saw great patience and discipline from backs and forwards to carve out the opening after some concerted pressure.

Worst bit: Allen's mad pass to Rokococo that was inexcusable at any level.