Wonderful Jonathan Joseph hat-trick helps England retain Six Nations with Scotland thrashing

England (30) 61

Tries: Joseph 3, Watson, B Vunipola, Care 2; Conversions: Farrell 7; Penalties: Farrell 4

Scotland (7) 21

Tries: Reid, Jones 2; Conversions: Russell 3

Six Nations champions. Calcutta Cup holders. Victorious in a world record-equalling 18 successive matches. But perhaps most importantly an England performance to underline the deluge of honours. Having limped their way inevitably to the title Eddie Jones needed something tangible to take from the early spring, and his demands were matched with the most intense and accurate display from his side for many months. Scotland, in stark contrast, froze on the big occasion during an 80 minutes which will overshadow whatever positives they gleam from their championship campaign. They were woeful.

Forget efficiency and temperament, the Red Rose had spluttered almost embarrassingly to within one victory of a heap of silverware. Immediate reflections may be positive but deep down Jones will know that failure to make significant strides has partially stalled their progress heading into the 2019 World Cup.

Scotland were beset with no such problems, with the greatest endorsement of their refinement under Vern Cotter being that they stood a genuine chance of causing an upset. Yet it was a horribly sobering afternoon at Twickenham, where the wait for a first victory since 1983, and the 26-year absence without the triple crown, continues. Maturity and development is more than discernible among this group but there are concerns that run deep.

Evidence that the Scots, for all the entertainment they provide with the ball, are far from the finished article came during a disastrous opening 20 minutes. Fraser Brown narrowly avoided seeing red for a tip tackle on Elliot Daly, who landed on his upper back rather than neck or head, though the hooker was nevertheless sin-binned. The visitors were notably rattled and from the very next play Alex Dunbar clutched at thin air to allow Jonathan Joseph to stroll to the opening try.

When the initial England pressure did relent, Finn Russell could not take advantage and missed touch from a penalty. The desperation to make anything from the infrequency of their possession came when the fly-half shanked a drop goal attempt when the hosts' monopolisation of the ball finally ended.

The chaos Scotland had promised to create England was being all self-inflicted. Stuart Hogg and replacement Mark Bennett were forced off with injuries, the former after a head injury assessment. The bedlam continued as Joseph staged his international revival in a fabulous first half, side-stepping his way through the heart of the Scotland defence to double his tally and put England out of sight.

Gordon Reid did at least add some respectability to the scoreline in the first 40 minutes with a try from a line-out, but beyond that England's probing runs and speed were rewarded again. Joseph isolated Dunbar again and released replacement Anthony Watson to storm over as the home side eyed more records.

The humiliation continued just three minutes into the second half as Joseph completed his hat-trick, after Nathan Hughes had begun the attack with the easiest of breaks through the Scotland forwards. Farrell then kicked a third penalty as the pursuit of the record 40-point winning margin in 2001 continued.

Huw Jones' try did little to stem the flow as Scotland ill-discipline presented England with another chance to exert their supremacy; this time their physical strength. And just minutes after making his return from the bench, Billy Vunipola provided a reminder as to his brute toughness with his sixth England try.

By now an international test match had turned into a training exercise with a host of substitutions underlining both England's dominance and Scotland's ineptitude, with the game fizzling out in terms of quality if not in incident. Jones and Danny Care exchanged tries and following mountains of late pressure the Harlequins scrum half got his second to ensure England equalled the biggest margin of victory over Scotland with their biggest points total. It was a result, the most points shipped by Scotland in the tournament's history, that no amount of complaining from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon could help overturn.

The emphatic victory now ensures England can justifiably eviscerate twenty-five years of hurt without successive grand slams next weekend against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, a success which they have more than earned. Scotland meanwhile will be expected to end Cotter's reign with victory over Italy, but they may be licking their wounds for many months following.