The sheer swagger and scoring poise of England as they pulverised Wales with 10 tries, inflicting a record total of points conceded by the Welsh at home, was deserving of high praise even if the weakness of the opposition cannot be ignored.
England also dabbled in their development with Ben Earl in the centres and Chandler Cunningham-South in the second row, and the Welsh fans streaming out of the exits long before the final whistle told a story of a home team on the end of a 17th straight defeat, and with no Six Nations win at this famous stadium since 2022.
For extra context, they have improved on the bang-average return of nine wins in their 20 Six Nations matches in the seasons 2021 to 2024.
So it might be an error to get carried away by the great leap forward suggested by the hammerings of the two worst teams in the Championship, Italy and Wales, in the final two rounds in the past week – even as England’s head coach Steve Borthwick was rushing to hand out boarding passes for this summer’s British & Lions tour to “hopefully lots of players” after this match.
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Borthwick can be forgiven for touting his men, in the circumstances, and meanwhile the pressure he was under for his job at the end of 2024, with one close defeat after another, has receded, and maybe was always unfair considering the significant number of England players who had recently retired or gone to play in France.
England have developed youngsters like Fin Smith and Henry Pollock in this Six Nations (Photo: Getty)
The lingering question is whether England have nailed the inner belief and sporting thick skin to start predicting wins over top opposition like South Africa.
Borthwick’s analysts ran a load of numbers through a computer before England faced South Africa in the 2023 World Cup semi-final, and it came up with a predicted two-point defeat.
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And then we remember they might be sitting as Six Nations champions now if they had done better in the opening-round loss in Ireland on the first weekend of February.
“The team has stuck to the process, and taken enjoyment in the process, of getting better,” said Borthwick, and while it might seem a prosaic statement, it had a ring of truth and of promise for the future.
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