Jonny Wilkinson notched a personal haul of 27 points -- including one highly dubious try -- as England roared back onto the international scene with a 42-20 win over Scotland in the Six Nations on Saturday.
This was the dawn of a new era for England under the watchful eye of Brian Ashton for the first time, but there was so much of the old England on display -- the England who won the World Cup in 2003.
There was the powerful surging mauls from the forward pack, a fluidity to the back-line play that has been missing for so long, and then there was that familiar name all over the score sheet again, Jonny Wilkinson.
On his first game back in an England shirt since he dropped that goal in Sydney in 2003 Wilkinson produced an impeccable display of goal kicking, helping himself to a personal haul of 27 points, including a highly controversial try.
England fans the world over will be asking themselves, "what if Jonny had been fit for the last three years?". His goal kicking alone justified his selection in the side, after just 43 minutes of rugby since his latest injury. But there was an air of the old Wilkinson as he settled back into the shirt he made his own for so long before injuries separated him from it.
However it was not just a case of Wilkinson winning England the game, despite being involved in all that was good from the men in white, as England looked a different side from that which plummeted into the depths last November. Vickery was an inspiring captain, ever ready and willing to lead by example, Corry looked revitalised at the base of the scrum, and Joe Worsley was close to his marauding best.
Then there was Andy Farrell. So much had been made of his move to rugby union and after a long awaited debut in his new code many felt he was not the answer England were desperately searching for. His display today may have been overshadowed by Ellis and Wilkinson but if anything that suited him perfectly.
He was able to quietly go about his business, and how he went about it. His running was direct and he made crossing the gain line look easy. With Wilkinson kicking so effectively it allowed Farrell to concentrate on his distribution, an asset he used to full effect in midfield releasing those outside of him.
The spotlight may have been on Wilkinson but it was his half back partner Harry Ellis who stole the show, if that is possible when Wilkinson is involved. Ellis made countless breaks around the tired Scotland fringes racking up the yards in the process. He also offered England a useful kicking option, which resulted in a Jason Robinson try, albeit after Sean Lamont had made a hash of grounding the ball.
Scotland came to Twickenham in confident mood, but will leave with their tails firmly between their legs after they were outclassed. Having given the home fans an early fright through a Simon Taylor try, they slowly faded from the game as legs became heavy and missed tackles came more often.
There would have been a sense of déjà-vu for England fans, as Wilkinson kicked three penalties and a drop goal in the first half, effortlessly resuming where he last left off in an England shirt. So too did Jason Robinson, who bagged a brace of tries, although he seems to have lost a yard of pace since coming back from retirement.
The first of his tries came at a crucial time. Leading by two points with half time approaching Robinson dummied the drifting defence before scooting over the whitewash. The try was made by Farrell's direct running and a superb flick on by who other than Jonny Wilkinson.
Trailing by just seven points at the break Scotland would have felt that they were still in touch of England, and when a Chris Paterson penalty reduced the gap to just four points English nerves would have been jangling. That was before Wilkinson continued his onslaught in the second period. Two more penalties eased England further ahead before Robinson was in again.
As they did all day England's forwards laid the platform with a dynamic rolling maul before Ellis slid a clever grubber kick in behind Sean Lamont. With Robinson bearing down on him Lamont seemed to have the kicked covered, and then he seemed to slip and lose his footing, allowing Robinson to apply the downward pressure for the easiest of tries.
With Wilkinson adding the touchline conversion one could sense the Scottish heads drop as they admitted defeat. As if he hadn't done enough already Wilkinson rounded off a perfect afternoon for England and himself by adding a try to his collection of kicks. Ellis laid the foundations with a sharp break before finding Wilkinson in support. As he dived for the line it appeared as if his foot was in touch at the time of the grounding. The TMO was called upon and despite all of the technology available to him failed to see the stray foot and allowed the try -- a truly shocking decision.
By this stage Scotland were tired and defeated, which is probably why they failed to see Magnus Lund lurking on the blindside of a maul allowing him a simple try to compound Scotland's woes. Wilkinson missed the conversion but it was insignificant by this stage, England had announced their reemergence on the international stage.
Content with their efforts England switched off in the closing stages to allow Rob Dewey in for a consolation try, a just reward for their efforts as while they were outclassed they never threw in the towel. David Callam was outstanding in fighting a losing battle, and Chris Cusiter was a thorn in the England rose.
But the day will belong to England, their new coach, Brian Ashton, their new captain, Phil Vickery, and their same old Jonny Wilkinson, as they reclaimed the Calcutta Cup in some style.
Man of the Match: A mention for Scotland as they had star performers, but not enough to spoil the party. David Callam was in superb form, tackling himself to a standstill. Chris Cusiter gave his all behind a struggling pack and Dan Parks kicked with aplomb. But it is no surprise the award goes to an English man, but which one? It is hard not to be drawn to Jonny Wilkinson and the way he shook off three years of injury heartache and produce a masterful display. However we have gone for his half-back partner Harry Ellis. Ellis was in sensational form, sniping around the fringes and making breaks at will. He bossed his forwards to great effect and turned in a superb performance in general.
Moment of the Match: Rather than a single moment we have gone for a collective group. In his first game back in an England shirt for almost four years Jonny Wilkinson provided a superb kicking display to keep England ticking over all afternoon.
Villain of the Match: With both teams intent on playing rugby there was nothing of note from the players. Instead it was Donal Courtney, the TMO, who scooped this award when he mysteriously awarded Jonny Wilkinson a try. Everyone could see his foot was clearly in touch before the ball was grounded. Yet despite seeing replays from several angles on more than one occasion he somehow awarded the try.
The scorers:
For England:
Tries: Robinson 2, Wilkinson, Lund
Cons: Wilkinson 2
Pens: Wilkinson 5
Drop goal: Wilkinson
For Scotland:
Tries: Taylor, Dewey
Cons: Paterson 2
Pens: Paterson 2
The teams:
England: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 Josh Lewsey, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Jason Robinson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Martin Corry, 7 Magnus Lund, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Danny Grewcock, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 George Chuter, 1 Perry Freshwater.
Replacements: 16 Lee Mears, 17 Julian White, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Tom Rees, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Mathew Tait.
Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Marcus Di Rollo, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Chris Paterson (c), 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Callam, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Simon Taylor, 5 James Hamilton, 4 Alastair Kellock, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Gavin Kerr.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Scott Murray, 19 Allister Hogg, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Rob Dewey, 22 Rory Lamont.
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Federico Cuesta (Argentina)
Television match official: Donal Courtney (Ireland)
Assessor: Paul Bridgman (England)
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