'It was crazy': Henry Arundell 'makes everyone else look really slow'

Henry Arundell’s searing pace makes even the fastest players appear slow, according to his England team-mate Alex Mitchell.

Arundell switched on the afterburners for his crucial 69th-minute try that gave England control of their autumn clash at Allianz Stadium, which they eventually won 38-18.

The Bath wing was the first to reach Marcus Smith’s grubber, outpacing speedsters Kalaveti Ravouvou and Sireli Maqala and prodding the ball forward before touching down.

It was a thrilling reminder of the 23-year-old’s athletic gifts as he celebrated the end of his England exile after spending two seasons in French club rugby by showing he is an X-factor talent who is too good to be overlooked.

The move started from an inaccurate Fiji kick-pass and scrum-half Mitchell said: “When the ball is in the air it can go either way because of the way the game is now.

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“Marcus picked up the scraps and I think he’s obviously seen Henry inside him then just the pace of him….it’s ridiculous.

“It was crazy and we see it in training every week. It just makes everyone else look really slow. Marcus and the Fiji boys are rapid as well, but Henry’s at the next level.

“We’ve known for a couple of years that he’s up there in terms of speed. He’s definitely one of the fastest players about. It was a class try and I’m really happy for him.”

Arundell was part of a second wave of replacements from the bench that began with the introduction of five forwards in the 54th minute and continued with additional reinforcement being fed into the match later on.

England are making smart use of the depth in their squad and have reversed the theme of last year when they repeatedly lost to tier one opponents by crumbling in the final quarter.

“We just appreciate you’ve got to stick in the game, you’ve got to stay in the arm wrestle and find a way,” British and Irish Lions half-back Mitchell said.

“We’re good when we get to that last 20 minutes. We’ve got the fitness, power and speed to carry on for 80 minutes, so we know if we stay toe-to-toe with teams, at that last 20 minutes we can push on and get a result.”

New Zealand visit Twickenham on Saturday in the autumn’s main event when England will be aiming to extend their winning run to 10 Tests.

“In any game you want to go out and get a result, but we know how good New Zealand are. They’re one of the best sides in the world for a reason,” Mitchell said.

“They’re a quality side with quality individuals, so it’s going to be a real Test match next weekend. We need to be our best and put in a real performance.

“We’re building momentum and growing as a team. We’re in a really good spot at the moment, but we’ve got so much growth in us. Our ceiling is so much higher, which is really exciting.”