Jeff Probyn column: Treating players like men helped win Grand Slam

Reflecting on last week's Grand Slam I can't help thinking how much the team has changed from the latter days of the Lancaster reign despite retaining the same players.
From a side that seems constantly to be playing by numbers, appearing to be led by the coaches in virtually every situation, to a side that were able to, using the acronym borrowed by Clive Woodward from life coach Yehuda Shinar, TCUP (Think Correctly Under Pressure), follow their instincts.
Could such dramatic change be bought about in such a short time by the new coaches, or was there another force at play?
A squad that suffered as many setbacks through failure to live up to expectation as the Lancaster group did at crucial times in their development, were bound to play with a certain amount of caution.
Fifteen different centre partnerships in 46 games meant that any level of the understanding you need between players in the intense environment of international rugby didn't have time to form, let alone mature.
One thing that all successful teams share is consistency of selection, allowing teamwork to develop into an almost subliminal link between players, aware of each other's thoughts and actions before they take place. In his 46 games in charge, Lancaster, through little fault of his own, was never able to keep that level of consistency in team selection and paid the price.
Over the past few weeks I have made reference to the credit that should be paid to Lancaster for England's successful Six Nations and Grand Slam and been asked many times if I feel sorry for
Lancaster losing his position as England coach? The answer to that question is no. Lancaster may have been forced by circumstances to change players but as head coach he still had to take responsibility for the mistakes made in selection (including Sam Burgess) even if he was badly advised by his assistants.
Failure in a home World Cup needs a fall guy and, following an RFU enquiry that showed a level of disquiet among players over a number of issues, Lancaster was the obvious choice.
That said, if the World Cup had been staged anywhere else but England, he might have been able to survive failing to make it out of the pool stage and be basking in England's Grand Slam glory still as head coach.
Lancaster's removal has re-empowered the players who, after the 2011 debacle, were forced to accept levels of discipline that were tantamount to treating grown men as schoolboys. If they wanted to be a part of Lancaster's and the RFU's brave new world, there were rules that must be obeyed, on and off the pitch, or else face the consequences of non-selection.
Eddie Jones has bought back the ‘bad boys' and given the squad the freedom to be grown men who make their own decisions and, more than anything else, it is that which has transformed the group.
A more relaxed camp has seen a new confidence return to the players and that has been reflected by increasingly confident displays on the pitch.
Winning the Grand Slam was a defining moment no matter how much people question the quality of this year's competition. As a player who has faced our Celtic cousins I know that for England to win a Grand Slam is far harder than for any of the other countries, as beating us is the number one priority of all the rest.
Jones will need to tweak his team by changing one or two players as his influence changes the subtleties of how England play the game and how Jones takes the next step, the changes he makes will define just how far England can go.
I can't leave this week without commenting on the Joe Marler affair. First, if while playing someone started to call me names or insult me (which they often did) I took it as a sign that I had managed to cause them a problem and was quite pleased at their frustrations.
Second, this affair has now lasted more than 14 days, doing far more damage to the image of the game than an off-the-cuff remark made in the heat of a game.
Was Marler right to say it? Probably not, but at least he realised his mistake and apologised at the first opportunity.
From all the reports I have read Samson Lee had not taken offence and accepted Marler's apology. The six Nations were satisfied with that apology and also Eddie Jones reminding Marler of his responsibility as an England player.
It would appear to me that Marler is destined to be punished for Wales losing to England and World Rugby's procrastination.