Wilkinson leads England to record haul

The trouble with breaking so many records in such quick succession is that England's achievements are already starting to blur…

The trouble with breaking so many records in such quick succession is that England's achievements are already starting to blur. No side in championship history has ever scored as many points in a single game, no individual can match Jonny Wilkinson's 35-point haul and it is now a fortnight short of four years since the tournament witnessed anything so preposterous as an away win at Twickenham.

Even when Clive Woodward's team show as many human frailties as they did during Saturday's first half, they still scored 33 points and, if the stirring deeds of Cardiff were understandably hard to match, it is worth noting the 10 tries England conjured in the course of the afternoon was more than their grand-slam winning side of 1995 managed in an entire season.

It is missing the point to keep questioning Italy's right to dine with the elite. Sure, the Azzurri lost the second half 47-0 but their two first-half tries were as many as England conceded at home in the whole of last year's Six Nations.

It is not only Italy who have been put to the Wilkinson-edged sword over the past 12 months and Woodward's conviction that he has the world's best outhalf was confirmed as much by his prodigy's 13 successful kicks from 14 attempts as the brutal ches-thigh tackle which floored the visiting flanker Mauro Bergamasco early on.

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Wilkinson himself politely demurred - "I think I've still got a long way to go" - and England do still have to go to Dublin next month, when they will have to be far more clinical to be sure of beating Ireland. For the moment, though, the likes of Iain Balshaw and Austin Healey, who claimed two tries apiece, are enjoying the time of their lives.

The well-taken tries by Denis Dallan and Carlo Checchinato which took the Italians into a 2017 lead after half an hour were to prove sadly irrelevant.

If the sin binning of Walter Pozzebon just as Italy were wobbling in the third quarter played into English hands, the freedom to send on waves of substitutes also continues to penalise the weaker Test nations.

With barely a quorum of genuine international players in his starting line-up, let alone on the bench, the Italy coach Brad Johnstone would have given anything for a spare Joe Worsley, Mark Regan or Kyran Bracken, each of whom gave England fresh impetus at the right time against tiring legs.

Worsley and Regan were both rewarded with maiden Test tries and the Wasps flanker, in particular, is now pushing hard for entry to Woodward's back row.

The once cruelly berated Mike Catt, winning his 50th cap, had another fine game and outside him, once England had remembered to attend to a few basics, the pace which destroyed Wales was again thrillingly evident. Healey's second try needed video confirmation but there was no disputing the quality of Balshaw's mazy second, which saw him cover 70 metres in what seemed the blink of an eye.

With alternatives such as the debutant Jason Robinson, who escaped the bench 30 minutes from time to a rousing reception, and Dan Luger, still nursing hopes of being fit for the Ireland game in five weeks' time, Healey justifiably feels the selectors are in "an awesome position". Robinson, though, clearly needs more time to adjust.

ENGLAND: Balshaw (Bath); Healey (Leicester), Greenwood (Harlequins), Catt (Bath), Cohen (Northampton; Robinson, Sale, 50 mins); Wilkinson (Newcastle), Dawson (Northampton; Bracken, Saracens, 57 mins); Leonard (Harlequins; Woodman, Gloucester, 68 mins), West (Leicester; Regan, Bath, 51 mins), Vickery (Gloucester), Johnson (Leicester, capt), Grewcock (Saracens; Corry, Leicester, 74 mins), Hill (Saracens), Back (Leicester; Worsley, Wasps 51 mins), Dallaglio (Wasps).

ITALY: Scanavacca (Roma); Martin (Northampton), Stoica (Narbonne), Pozzebon (Benetton Treviso; Rivaro, Bedford, 66 mins), Dallan (Benetton Treviso); Raineri (Roma), Queirolo (Viadana); Lo Cicero (Roma), Moscardi (Benetton Treviso, capt), Muraro (Padova; De Carli, Roma 47 mins), Gritti (Padova), Visser (Benetton Treviso), Caione (Roma; Dal Maso, Rovigo 68 mins), Bergamasco (Benetton Treviso), Checchinato (Benetton Treviso).

Referee: S Dickinson (Australia).