England head coach Stuart Lancaster was proud of the performance his players produced in beating Italy 52-11 in Rome, even if it fails to land them the Six6 Nations title.
Mike Brown's sensational championship continued with his brace of tries decorating a fine individual contribution, while Owen Farrell, Jack Nowell, Mako Vunipola, Manu Tuilagi and Chris Robshaw also crossed.
However, a Leonardo Sarto interception try for Italy and two Luciano Orquera penalties mean England failed to overhaul Ireland’s superior points difference of plus 49, with events now resting on what happens in Paris later on Saturday.
Regardless of that result, however, Lancaster feels his side can hold their heads up high after thrashing Italy on home soil.
He told BBC One: “We scored some great tries and we’ve come here and scored 50, and not many teams have done that, in fact very, very few.
“There were some errors in the first half, but I’m just proud of the boys. It’s a great squad we’ve got developing and the bigger picture is important.
“The match against France was frustrating, but then look at the performance against Scotland, the Ireland performance, the Wales performance, and I don’t think anyone has come here and scored as many as we have today.
“So you’ve got to be proud of the boys really.”
