Beneath the beautiful curved roof of this wonderful arena, a 14-man England finally gave their long-suffering supporters something to cherish. The Rugby World Cup in France is only a couple of days old but it will take something extra special in the weeks ahead to eclipse this effort in terms of backs-to-the-wall resilience and good old-fashioned bulldog spirit.
England also had George Ford, who in terms of shaping a Test match enjoyed the most satisfying big game of his career. The Sale fly-half was world junior player of the year in his youth but here, on the ultimate stage, he surpassed that achievement by scoring all his side’s points in a kicking performance even Jonny Wilkinson would have found hard to match.
