Steve Borthwick credited England’s intensity after his men tore into their Six Nations campaign with a dominant 48-7 victory over Wales at the Allianz Stadium.
George Ford’s early penalty set the tone accompanied with Arundell scoring a first-half hat-trick, Ford controlled territory, and Wales were shut out 29-0 by half-time.
That fast start was no accident, according to Steve Borthwick, who pointed to the mindset England brought into the opening game of the championship.
Borthwick said: “It’s the first game of the tournament. We know the challenges of bringing the team together from multiple different clubs.
“The intensity and attitude at the start were fantastic, and Jamie’s done a brilliant job making sure the team were right for kick-off.”
England now sit at the top of the table after round one, with Wales bottom.
Despite the margin of victory, Borthwick was clear England have room to improve.
He said: “Defensively we were excellent. Wales have dangerous players and real pace out wide and I thought we shut that down well.
“We created a lot of opportunities, but we can be better at converting them, particularly in the second-half.”
After two years in international wilderness, Henry Arundell arrived back on the scene drawing praise for his hat-trick, but Borthwick highlighted the winger’s growth beyond his finishing.
He added: “We all know Henry is a player who has incredible ability running with the ball.
”What I’ve been really impressed by over the last number of months is his attitude to go and improve other aspects of his game.”
Captain Jamie George echoed that assessment, pointing to England’s preparation and cohesion.
“We put a big emphasis on how we train.
“From the moment we came into camp there’s just this appetite and desire for this team to be as good as we possibly can be and to get better.
Looking ahead to meeting Scotland at Murrayfield, George said: ”Regardless of who we are playing next week, I think it’s a brilliant platform for us sort of kick on.
“We wanted to start with a bang, but we did that today.”
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