England stormed out of the autumnal gates to claim a dominant 69-3 win over Tonga at Twickenham on Saturday as the hosts ran in 11 tries to start November with a bang.
Eddie Jones' men overcame Tonga's physical bombardment despite losing captain Owen Farrell to a positive Covid-19 test on the eve of the game, with Marcus Smith coming off the bench to score in his absence.
Jonny May, Jamie George and Ben Youngs bagged two tries apiece while Adam Radwan, Maro Itoje and Jamie Blamire also crossed over, while scrum-half replacement Alex Mitchell scored on his Test debut.
There were plenty of positives to mark England's first outing of the autumn slate, but Mirror Sport also considers some of the ways in which the Red Rose may look to improve moving ahead. . .
Killer instinct a work in progress
Jones spoke this week about his desire to inspire a "more aggressive" England capable of delighting fans, and a 66-point differential certainly suggests they're moving in the right direction.
But it's not every week England will find themselves against an opponent willing to incur three cards (including one red), which had a big impact in flattering the hosts.
There was a lull in the scoring early in the second half in particular, where superior opposition would be only too happy to hit back.
The line-out was clinical while the substitutes offered a big bonus off the bench, but there's work to be done before England can consider themselves the finished article.
Jamie George should be here to stay
Of all the senior stars omitted from England's autumn squad, Saracens star George deserved more attention as one of the unluckiest to be left out—and he showed exactly why on Saturday.
Hooker has become an extremely prolific position in modern rugby as teams begin to operate their set-piece with the precision of an NFL playbook, but George barely put a foot wrong in his 70-minute shift.
England are blessed in the position with the up-and-coming likes of Blamire and Nic Dolly coming through, but recalled George deserves to be considered the man to beat in England's No. 2 jersey following his latest brace.
Courtney Lawes is a better 6 than we thought
England's back row became a major talking point after Tom Curry was moved to No. 8 at the expense of Alex Dombrandt, with Courtney Lawes retaining the No. 6 jersey he made his own on this year's Lions tour.
Many have raised doubts regarding the converted lock's mobility compared to other, more natural blindside selections, but it certainly wasn't an issue when he stopped Telusa Veainu's length-of-the-field run at the death.
There's sure to be an ongoing debate as to whether Lawes deserves the No. 6 jersey ahead of Curry in future, but the Northampton stalwart backed up his selection with that lung-bursting chase alone.
Tonga hit hard; the Red Rose hit harder
For all the pre-match framework suggesting Tonga were the physical oppressors and England the skill merchants, this performance backed up the belief that the Red Rose are by no means lacking in power.
Led by a titanic contingent comprising the likes of Itoje, Jonny Hill, Curry and Lawes, this was an encouraging examination of England's ability to front up against one of the world's more imposing teams physically.
Moreover, Manu Tuilagi brought a potent combination of bullish brute strength and silky interlink play in midfield, forming a partnership with Henry Slade that Jones shouldn't be in a hurry to disband.
Marcus Smith is ready
It may not have been the start many wanted, but Smith showed enough in 30 or so minutes on the field to reinforce the notion that he's ready for the England No. 10 jersey.
Whether that's as a replacement for Farrell or in addition to remains to be seen, but signs of the trademark fizz he adds to the Harlequins attack on a weekly basis were evident during his cameo against Tonga.
There are mitigating factors in that the visitors were tiring and played the final phases of the game with 14 men, but a try-scoring display has only boosted his considerable stock even further.
