Steve Borthwick revealed the “blend” of traits that propelled his England side to a seven-try victory over Wales at Twickenham to open their Six Nations account in style.
Henry Arundell ran in a hat-trick as George Ford pulled the strings to tear apart a poor and ill-disciplined Welsh side.
The 48-7 victory - a 12th consecutive win for England - gives them a solid platform to build on as they head to Murrayfield next for their second game of the tournament, with Scotland falling to a shock defeat by Italy at the Stadio Olimpico earlier on Saturday.
“I think there's a lot of potential in this whole squad,” Borthwick said afterwards.
“What's pleasing me now is the level of experience we have, and younger players emerging, and Henry is one of those.
“The speed we now have on the edges, the athleticism we have in our back row, and the tactical smarts we have around our No9 and No10, that blend across the board is very good.”
Borthwick, who has now overseen 41 games at the helm, hailed his squad’s versatility, with numerous players picking up different roles and positions throughout the one-sided contest.
Tommy Freeman has been a big talking point, with the Northampton wing selected at outside centre, before he was shifted to the flank in the dying embers, and he dived over to add the final flourish one minute from time.
Ben Earl also scored from number eight before moving to inside centre after the introduction of Henry Pollock from the bench.
“I like players to have the ability to have positional flexibility,” Borthwick explained.
“You saw Ben Earl move into the centre again today and he did a good job there, which I think is particularly effective late in games, especially when you're up on the scoreboard and you've got the opposition trying to use the ball in hand more and looking to score.
“Suddenly you've got four back rows there. We've got a lot of good back-rowers in that squad. I also like that ability to do that late in games.”
Borthwick showcased his squad depth with the introduction of Pollock, and the young flanker was at the heart of the action for the home side’s penalty try in the second half.
