An impressive, if not perfect, England simply blew away the challenge of Scotland in the Calcutta Cup with two tries from Iain Balshaw helping them to a record 43-3 win at Twickenham.
The win, the biggest ever for England between these two nations, underlined just why it looks likely that only a fantastic effort from Ireland, or worringly the more malevolent influence of foot-and-mouth, can surely deny England the Grand Slam.
Scotland were competitive for the first half an hour but once England got in to their stride, they were little more than that and at the heart of things going forward for England was Iain Balshaw.
Whatever his defensive frailties, and again there were some yet again, he brings an attacking edge from fullback that many sides find hard to counter and, after his negative comments earlier in the week, Finlay Calder may well be donning his Braveheart gear for an impressive Mel Gibson impersonation.
A modest Balshaw refused to ram the words down Calder's throat, saying: "He's entitled to his opinion, and I was just delighted with the performance, and coming up with a good result."
It is a mark of how far England have come, and the expectation heaped upon them, that many will point to a less than perfect line-out, only winning 12 out of their 15, seven turnovers and 13 handling errors.
However, such was their dominance they could afford such lapses and, although many in the southern hemipshere will point to a lack of credible challengers in the Six Nations, England have an hardened and efficient edge that they have lacked over the past few years.
A delighted England manager Clive Woodward said after another impressive 15-man display from his side that it was the mix of styles that separates his side from the one which flopped in the 1999 World Cup.
"The ambition and variety is what pleases me. In the past we've been too predictable. We have a special group of players but you've got to pick them."
"The no tries conceded pleases me as well, espeially at the end when we lost our shape a bit. We can't wait for the next game, but I'm not going to get carried away," he added.
Another England star who chalked up two tries on the day was former captain Lawrence Dallaglio, who said afterwards: "It was a potentially tricky game, and they always raise their game when they play England.
"Our defensive training all week has been absolutely spot on, and we were determined not to concede any tries. In the seond-half we maybe got the ball out wide a bit too early, but it's nice to be on the scoresheet, and a lot nicer to win."
Scotland coach Ian McGeechan refused to condemn his side after a start to the game which had them in contention, saying: "I'm disappointed with the final score, although we came to the speed of the game pretty well in the first half.
"We can't take anything away from that England performance, and it was their two tries just before half-time which took them away. We couldn't cause them to think at the right times."
With the British and Irish Lions selection already a talking point, former Lions coach McGeechan said of the current England side: "A lot of them have to be in contention."
After an opening spell where midfield defences were on top England took the lead in the seventh minute.
Following good work by England lock Danny Grewcock flying full-back Balshaw surged forward. Balshaw, who created a buzz of excitement in the crowd whenever he used his electrifying pace, cut through the cover.
Flanker Neil Back was in support and the retreating Scots could not prevent an overlap when No.8 Lawrence Dallaglio took a pass from centre Mike Catt to touchdown out on the right. England fly-half Wilkinson missed the conversion, sparking concern that last weekend's poor kicking form from the English Cup final here, might be returning.
Dallaglio's try did not see the floodgates open, however. The Scottish defence was initially resilient and the visitors enjoyed territory through the astute kicking of wing Cameron Murray and outside-half Duncan Hodge.
But a 10th minute Wilkinson penalty put England 8-0 up before Hodge responded in kind three minutes later.
The match then became bogged down although England looked dangerous when they moved the ball wide and Scotland wing Kenny Logan caused comcern with a lone break.
But in the 37th minute England's greater fluency was rewarded with another try.
After several phases of sustained possession, involving both forwards and backs, including superb hands from Greenwood, England again created an overlap on the right and flanker Richard Hill scored a converted try.
Then, in first-half extra time, England went further ahead. More sustained handling finished with Wilkinson darting through before passing to Dallaglio for the Wasps forward's second try.
Wilkinson converted and England were on their way to a record-breaking result.
Three minutes after the break, it was Balshaw who effectively sealed the game. Good midfield work from centre Will Greenwood and Leicester wing Austin Healey released Balshaw down the right to then shimmy through the defence for a fine try.
To make matters worse for Scotland, flanker Budge Pountney was sin-binned for kicking Northampton team-mate and England scrum-half Matt Dawson.
England's pack was also enjoying its work with a series of scrums. From one five-metre shove the ball was moved wide to Healey but the Leicester man was knocked into the corner flag by a last-ditch tackle from full-back Chris Paterson.
Not that this slowed the scoring for long. A brilliant cross-kick by centre Mike Catt found Bath team-mate Balshaw for his second try in the 62nd minute. Jonny Wilkinson converted and England were 36-3 ahead.
The scoring was completed when a sprint through a tired Scotland defence by substitute Jason Robinson saw him feed Will Greenwood for a simple try under the posts.
A streaker then braved the cold to add a last-minute note of comedy -- but only England were probably laughing.
The Teams:
England: 1 Jason Leonard, 2 Dorian West, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Will Greenwood, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Iain Balshaw
Reserves: Kyran Bracken, Mark Regan, Jason Robinson, Joe Worsley
Unused: Martin Corry, Matt Perry, Trevor Woodman
Scotland: 1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Richard Metcalfe, 5 Scott Murray, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Martin Leslie, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Andy Nicol (c), 10 Duncan Hodge, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Alan Bulloch, 13 John Leslie, 14 Cammie Murray, 15 Chris Paterson
Reserves: Gordon McIlwham, James Craig, Stuart Grimes, James McLaren, Bryan Redpath
Unused: Jon Petrie, Steve Scott
Attendance: 75000
Referee: Davies r.
Points Scorers:
England
Tries: Dallaglio L.B.N. 2, Greenwood W.J.H. 1, Hill R.A. 1, Balshaw I.R. 2
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 5
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 1
Scotland
Pen K.: Hodge D.W. 1
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