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England looked a much-improved side against Ireland on Saturday with the midfield combination of Jonathan Joseph and Brad Barritt starting their first Test alongside each other. England were more potent in attack against Ireland and there was a marked improvement in their organisation and that is down to Barritt.

Barritt was starting his first Test for England since November. There will never be any question marks raised about his ability to defend and he clearly understands what is required of him as an individual but it his role within the team is probably the most important.

An inside centre who can marshal a defensive unit is key, especially for England in this World Cup. In effect he sometimes takes on the role of another back-rower, roaming the field, chopping attackers at the knees and competing for the ball.

Barritt has a low centre of gravity and can compete for the ball at the breakdown more easily than others like Tom Wood or Chris Robshaw. Stuart Lancaster has loved playing the Saracens centre and a key reason for his selection could be that England are missing someone in the back-row who can dominate low down to the turf. Barritt defends well and he slows ball down, even if he doesn't turn it over. That was apparent on Saturday and the Irish didn't make line breaks of enough significance to threaten England. The Irish score through Paul O'Connell was hard to stop at the time but can be easily fixed. Scything line breaks would be a huge concern at this stage but Barritt's defensive organisational skills proved vital. In a back line lacking monster hitters, positional intelligence is just what's needed.

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It would be great to see Barritt open a game up in attack like Henry Slade can but it's not his game and that role is left to George Ford or Owen Farrell at fly-half.

What was starker on Saturday was the role of Mike Brown. The fullback stepped into first receiver on occasion and allowed Ford more time to impact the game in the second receiver slot. When England play like this they look much more dangerous. It was a key contributor to Jonny May's try down the left wing. With Barritt used elsewhere it is vital for someone else to step up. That said, what the Saracens centre does do well is carry and he cleans up a lot of untidy play so that the team can rebuild. He is one of those players who does the work no one else wants to do.

Sam Burgess had little impact on the game but he will in others. His forward pass to Richard Wigglesworth could have been a brilliant offload - had it gone backwards - and arguably the ball he dropped going into contact was the wrong choice from Farrell. He has an ability to attract defenders and that could make a big difference during the World Cup. Defensively, opposition will have an eye open for him. Ian Madigan will be still dusting himself off after being man handled on Saturday, it was a proper bell ringer from Slammin' Sam.

Outside Barritt lies Jonathan Joseph, a world class talent with his name etched onto the team sheet. Against Ireland he was a constant threat with his footwork and pace, he gets the team on the front foot when it seems nothing is on. Alongside Anthony Watson and co. in the back three, Joseph made sizeable inroads into Ireland's defence. It makes the game so much easier when you are going forward. On Saturday, it seemed like England slung him the ball and said "do your thing" on a couple of occasions which shows the faith they have in him as a player but I feel England need to be more creative than that. He doesn't need much to set off on a forty metre sprint up field.

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Ford and Brown, if they are to be the two ball players, need to try and manufacture space through the team's shape to allow Joseph to shine. He is down on the opposition analysis sheet as someone to watch and will be marked heavily with a defender either side so lobbing him the ball in hope isn't going to work as much as they would like it to. By offsetting defenders as they did on Saturday a couple of times it will allow Joseph to demonstrate the skills we know he possesses. Part of the argument for using Sam Burgess would be to create space for Joseph. Being creative doesn't mean you have to be using the ball. Running holding lines is a thankless job but Burgess can hold two players or more sometimes.

Defensively, I would love to see Joseph come out of the line a bit more and hit players man and ball. He has the ability to read the game well and certainly has the pace to shut down attacks on the spot. He's not a big hitter of any note but spot defending would be just as useful. It looks like he tries to use his pace when defending allowing him to make side on tackles but with Barritt inside him I think he can afford to be more aggressive sometimes. He defended well with his centre partner and I only saw one missed tackle on a lumpy Irish back row so there is no alarm in that side of his game.

It was an improved performance from the England midfield and I can't wait for the Rugby World Cup to start. A weight of expectation rests with England now, especially because of the injuries sustained by Wales at the weekend. Get through the group stages and anything can happen. But for that to happen, Barritt and Joseph need to be absolutely flying.