This was the performance we’d long been promised by Steve Borthwick’s England.

When close result after close result went against them last summer and in the Autumn Nations Series, England fans were told to keep the faith. Trust the process.

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It was easier said than done. Even as results started to turn, frustration did not always ease. The box-kicking barrage against Scotland was met with boos at Twickenham just a fewe weeks ago.

However, the shift in intent was clear against Italy even if the execution wasn’t always perfect. After that victory, fly-half Fin Smith admitted they were keen to move the ball more and England were simply too hot to handle for a beleaguered Wales side.

All the renewed hope swirling around Principality Stadium, there was genuine expectation for the first time in a long time, was abruptly extinguished in just ten minutes as England started in a hurry in Cardiff.

Captain Maro Itoje got things up and running after just three minutes before Tom Roebuck finished well on his first start and before you knew it, the visitors were 14-0 up before many of the Welsh fans had finished singing the anthem.

Matt Sherratt’s men simply could not live with England’s speed of ball and intensity. When Elliot Daly – far from England’s frontline ball-carrier – smashed beyond the gainline in the build-up to Roebuck’s score, you knew the men in white meant business.

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That’s not to say they had it all their own way. England went off the boil midway through the first half, shortly after Ollie Chessum – who was magnificent last week – trudged off injured and Wales eventually capitalised through Ben Thomas’s score.

Borthwick might not be the most inspiring orator but you cannot label his team selections as boring. He made nine changes to the 23 that brushed Italy aside with just a six-day turnaround as England headed into Super Saturday with a sniff off the title for the first time in five years.

One of the most glaring calls was the lack of traditional second-row cover on the bench. So when Chessum picked up what looked to be a shoulder injury, Chandler Cunningham-South had to play the best part of an hour in the engine room. No issue – he scored two tries.

But that did little to alter England’s superiority. Luke Cowan-Dickie’s crucial tap-tackle on Blair Murray stopped an almost certain try. It was a piece of extraordinary work-rate from the hooker who must be eyeing up a second straight Lions tour having started all three Tests in South Africa in 2021.

As good as England were, Wales did not help themselves. Even the experienced Gareth Anscombe butchered a good attacking platform as his kick for touch went dead.

Borthwick has long been planning Tommy Freeman’s move from the wing to 13, where he has often starred for Northampton Saints, and on his first England start in midfield, the 24-year-old scored his fifth try of the campaign. He became only the second man to score a try against each opponent in a Six Nations campaign.

Cunningham-South struck from close range before a deflection of Ellis Genge’s head helped England surge into Wales’ 22. Fittingly, the try came for prop Will Stuart on the occasion of his 50th cap. Plenty to celebrate.

At 33-7 down at half-time, Wales looked dead and buried but still must’ve hoped they could reproduce the rearguard action that had Scotland sweating last time out. Murray almost capitalised on Alex Mitchell’s drop as Wales came knocking on the door repeatedly.

The supreme Ben Curry pulled off a remarkable jackal steal on his own line. Just one of a several standout moments in a Man of the Match display.

England’s ingenuity came to the fore when Freeman went off injured and on came back-rower Henry Pollock for his debut. Ben Earl shifted to centre for the final half-an-hour and the uninitiated would have had no clue it was not his usual position.

As for Pollock, he had the broadest smile imaginable as he came on for his first scrum and it barely left his face as he raced over for two tries. There’s something about him, I believe the youngsters call it ‘aura’.  He can’t have even dreamed of a more seamless introduction to Test rugby.

Elliot Daly’s head helped Alex Mitchell kick through and score while Cunningham-South put the icing on the cake at the death. If this was a boxing fight, the referee would have intervened long ago.

England set a new record for points scored against Wales, their previous best of 62 came in a 2007 World Cup warm-up, and it was their biggest-ever win in Cardiff. Quite the statement.

Borthwick must have been internally delighted. His replacements worked seamlessly and the whole squad were ruthless in the way they dismantled Wales who only had a second try for Ben Thomas to show for their second 40.

After the turgid defeat at Murrayfield last year, England tried to broaden their horizons. This attacking revolution mark two appears to have stuck and Borthwick with four wins from five can be rightfully satisfied with a great Six Nations campaign.

The only problem for the England head coach is he his now set to lose even more players to Andy Farrell’s Lions tour.

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