Steve Borthwick hailed the growth of his England team after a record Six Nations romp against Wales took the Guinness Six Nations title race to its final game.
England demolished Wales 68-14 in Cardiff as a 10-try spectacular ensured title favourites France could not afford any slip up in their final fixture against Scotland.
The win surpassed England’s 50-10 Six Nations victory over Wales at Twickenham in March 2002, with only their 62-5 success in a World Cup warm-up game in 2007 standing as a bigger triumph in the fixture’s 144-year history.
Head coach Borthwick said: “I wanted the players to play big and fast, aggressive with the ball and that’s exactly what they did.
“That’s a sign that this young team just embraces challenges and it is growing and developing fast.
“I think the team has been progressing for a period of time. You can see that growth.
“We were just falling short before of getting those actual wins but the team has stuck to the process.”
Ben Curry was named player of the match after winning his battle with Wales captain Jac Morgan, a rival for the British and Irish Lions seven shirt in Australia this summer, hands down.
Second-row forward Maro Itoje, a potential Lions captain in waiting, was also immense and plenty of others put their hands up for spots in Andy Farrell’s Lions party.
Borthwick said: “The next thing for these players is that hopefully a lot of them will get picked for the Lions.
“It was Kevin Sinfield (skills and kicking coach) who proposed that part of our role is to get as many of them on that plane as possible.
“Our job is to help them do that and hopefully there will be a lot of England players heading Down Under in a couple of months time on that Lions plane.”
For Wales, it was nothing short of a disastrous day when records tumbled like dominoes.
Wales were condemned to a second successive wooden spoon and 17th Test defeat on the bounce – a record for a tier one nation in the professional era – and the 68 points conceded was the most in their Six Nations history.
Matt Sherratt, put in interim charge after Warren Gatland’s departure halfway through the campaign in February, refused to be drawn into a debate on the state of Welsh rugby but admitted it had been a sobering exercise.
Sherrattt said: “I’ve been in three or four weeks so it’s not about me at all. There’s a great group of lads in the dressing room and I really feel for them. It looked like a game too many.
“We’ve got to be aware the last seven to eight weeks have been pretty emotional. The playing group and staff have been through a lot.
“Little things went against us in the game and it probably opened up some wounds. It’s devastating.
“There’s a reset going on. There’s going to be a new director of rugby and coach and the next camp has to feel fresh for the players.”
