Jonny Wilkinson admitted playing for England is what "I live a lot of my life for" after inspiring Brian Ashton's side to a 42-20 victory over Scotland.
England reclaimed the Calcutta Cup on the back of 27 points from outhalf Wilkinson on his first appearance for his country since winning the World Cup in 2003.
"It's been a long time and it's just good to get back on the field," he said. "The whole atmosphere - it's what I live a lot of my life for."
He added: "Twickenham is such a great place and the fans are so loud and supportive."
Five of Wilkinson's points came from a try awarded by the video referee even though his foot had clearly been in touch on the replay.
A sheepish Wilkinson admitted: "I felt like it was going to be literally touch and go with my foot down and the ball down but that's what the video ref is for."
The 27-year-old received a standing ovation when he was substituted with the game won and he said: "It means a huge amount - it's a lot to pay back."
Scotland head coach Frank Hadden was fuming with Wilkinson's try.
"The Jonny Wilkinson try was just a farce," he said. "What's the point of a TMO (video referee) if they get it so horribly wrong?
"I don't know how anybody could get that so horribly wrong. It's not humanly possible to get it wrong.
"But we've got Donal Courtney in a few weeks' time and he owes us a big favour. These things are totally out of our control.
"It's hugely irritating but there were areas of the game where we didn't play quite as well as we'd hoped."
Hadden said: "Credit to England, they played extremely well. Ultimately we came to win but failed to do that."