The old chestnut of "arrogant England" was rolled back on to the rugby agenda this week and if caretaker coach Stuart Lancaster achieves just one thing during his spell in charge, it is likely to be the utter destruction of that epithet.
The straight-talking northerner is the antithesis of the public school persona that for many still taints the world's biggest union and in his few weeks in charge so far he has been working overtime to ensure the players are firmly disavowed from any notion of innate superiority.
"I'm from a working class background, I worked on a farm, I spent a lot of time with a club (Leeds) that struggled and fought its way through the leagues and those things are important to my values," Lancaster told reporters at the official Six Nations championship launch on Wednesday.
Given that it was former England player and coach - now Scotland coach - Andy Robinson who was the latest to accuse his old team of arrogance towards his new one at the World Cup, it was not something to be completely ignored.
"Some things needed to change after the World Cup and I've spoken to all the players. It couldn't be swept under the carpet but it's been dealt with and the conclusion was: learn the lessons, draw the line, move on," he said.
"My message is that you will get respect if you act responsibly. This is a new team and I would be disappointed if in six to 12 months people termed us as arrogant."
Having spent most of his playing and coaching career out of the limelight, Lancaster was clearly appalled at England's behaviour during the World Cup and, having been appointed as an interim replacement for Martin Johnson, wasted little time in bringing the highly-paid squad down to earth. -http://uk.reuters.com
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