England brutal and brilliant as they fight for Steve Borthwick in Australia rout

England racked up their biggest-ever points tally against Australia, cruising to a dominant 45-22 win at Twickenham that eased the pressure on under-fire head coach Steve Borthwick.Jamie George was defiant in his pre-match comments that England were fully behind Borthwick despite explosive reports this week of a major dressing room rift over the summer.His triumphant celebration as he powered over for the opening try of the match spoke to the “galvanising” effect he had suggested the criticism would have on the team.England have a habit of reacting when put under the cosh, and while there were moments when their desperation to impress led to mistakes, particularly at the lineout, their physicality and pace with ball in hand was too much for Australia to handle.Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, as he so often is, was the spark for England. Carrying the ball into pressure and breaking the lines as Borthwick’s side ended a scrappy period of the game to take control through tries from Ollie Chessum and Joe Heyes.Read MoreA year out from the World Cup in Australia, and with memories of 2003 looming large, this could have been a difficult reminder of just how far England are from a second world title.Pressure eased: Steve Borthwick endured a difficult week before England faced AustraliaPAInstead, they were brutal and brilliant in moments while still showing the sort of fallibility that saw them come unstuck on Australia’s visit to Twickenham two years ago.Jack van Poortvliet’s stray pass to Max Jorgensen is the sort of error, with England coasting into half-time, that has previously been the undoing of Borthwick’s side.This afternoon, though, England were focused and determined, with Van Poortvliet reacting perfectly to Jorgensen’s try by getting on the scoresheet himself minutes after the restart to seal the bonus point.Australia head coach Les Kiss was honest in his post-match assessment. England enforced their game plan on the Wallabies, who could not establish any momentum.England played to their strengths in the first half, scoring the opener from a catch-and-drive from the lineout. But they took the handbrake off after the interval to offer encouragement that Borthwick is prepared to let his team go out and entertain.Henry Pollock, the so-called ‘million-pound player’ and England’s joker in the pack, was instrumental in that second-half display, scoring twice in the space of three minutes and underlining his credentials as one of the brightest young talents in rugby.England played with width and pressure, starting each half with a flourish. This was the perfect response to talk of unrest within the dressing room, but there will be bigger tests to come for a side that has failed to push on since their run to the 2023 World Cup semi-finals.