The Grand Slam awaits in Paris.
The Six Nations is all about momentum. Against Scotland, England started slowly but ground out a win.
Just over a month later, at the same Murrayfield venue, the championship went their way. Scotland stunned France and left England three points clear of their nearest challengers. They are the champions and deservedly so.
Eddie Jones has galvanised a squad that were not far unchanged from the rabble that were dumped out of the World Cup pool stages.
There were mere tweaks here and there. Dan Cole and Joe Marler selected alongside chief agitator and motivator Dylan Hartley, their captain.
In the back row, Chris Robshaw lost the captaincy but thrived on the blindside. He was an absolute nuisance throughout the championship. James Haskell was the openside enforcer while Billy Vunipola finally started to replicate his Saracens form at Test level.
Ben Youngs was a delight and Owen Farrell looks at home at inside centre. Anthony Watson continued on where he left off at the World Cup – scoring tries and blitzing defences. Mike Brown was back to his 2014 best. Kicking ball to the fullback usually resulted in chaos.
Jack Nowell was brought into the side to score tries – and he did – yet his try-saving tackle on Robbie Henshaw was as vital an intervention as any other in the championship.
And then there was Maro Itoje, three caps into his fledgling Test career and looking like a 100-cap man already. Athletic and powerful, he was a nightmare to opposition lineout.
Jones brought that nasty streak back to England. That must be acknowledged.
I say unfairly cast as thugs and bullies. That’s what they were. They targeted key men on the opposition, cleared men out off the ball and hit opposing players hard and late. Stray arms, stray digs, slurs, and barbs. They will be off a lot of Christmas card lists.
However, there was so much more to this champion English side.
They had every team worked out and carried out their coach’s game-plan to the letter. England turned opposition strengths into weaknesses – Ireland’s lineout and out-halves, Wales’ drift defence, Italy’s breakdown work – and sucked the life out of them.
They boxed. They also boxed clever.
As for their coach and his mind games. They may have been crass and purile at times but many of his comments were manna for headline writers and they were always uttered with his team, and his plan, in mind.
Six months after the abject humilation of a World Cup exit at home, England are top dogs.
They should win the Grand Slam next week as France are scandalously average. Having a domestic competition flooded with foreign talent continues to damage the national team.
Eddie Jones for Lions coach in 2017? Stranger things have happened.
