LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'Pollock’s hat-trick cameo was a delight, showing a natural pace that few backrowers in the world game possess.'

England’s Cumbrian head coach will have a few new friends in the north to salute after this one-sided victory that releases the pressure valve that had threatened to explode if another loss had been chalked up against his name. The outcome was never in doubt, sadly so, as Fiji were a pale imitation of the warriors we have come to know and love. But just as the criticism of England for their inadequate opening Nations Championship performance in South Africa was merited then so praise should be extended their way for getting the job well and truly done in the docklands of Liverpool.

Fiji have sent enough opposition head coaches packing down the years with so-called upset victories for nothing to be taken for granted. Borthwick’s men completed their mission in some style, efficiently and occasionally swaggeringly, and they head to Argentina with a pep in their step, some all-important belief tugged away in their luggage. The Borthwick project still has legs. The final assessment of this three-test stretch will not be made until events in Santiago del Estero are over. A scruffy victory at the Hill Dickinson Stadium would have led to yet more murmurs along Twickenham corridors but such was the relish in the way that England went about their business that they can have every reason to approach the match against los Pumas with renewed optimism. It will be quite the week for Argentina-England clashes. It will be raucous and fractious in the capital in the build-up. What price an England double?

Any assessment, of course, has to be tempered with a nod to the quality of the opposition. It was horrible to see Fiji play with such little shape and conviction, a throwback to old times when they suffered indignities because of poor preparation and lack of player availability. Even if the logistics of this new tournament need some revision, you still have to applaud England’s ability to take advantage of the situation. Fiji were poor but the damage was not all self-inflicted. England made them look half-cock and out-of-kilter. They suffocated Fiji’s potential threats and rammed home that advantage. Yes, Fiji’s discipline was suspect but a team that is under strain is prone to doing daft things and Simione Kuruvoli’s red card for a hot-tempered kick-out on Ellis Genge certainly fell into that category. It was a harsh but legitimate call.

Through all of this Borthwick has fronted up in the same way that he did as a player – with the stoic dignity of a former second-row forward, head-down, grafting and chiselling, applying himself to the job and ploughing onwards no matter what. Even though he is signed up with the RFU through until the end of next year’s Rugby World Cup, the sporting landscape is littered with supposedly cast-iron employment contracts. That is the reality of the business and Borthwick was under that sort of pressure coming into this fixture. Those concerns have not entirely disappeared but they have certainly abated. Borthwick has held his nerve admirably, as too have his players. They, too, must have had some internal misgivings and credit to Borthwick and to the leadership skills of Jamie George for seeing it all through.

There are plenty of positives for them to take from their northern excursion. Benhard Janse van Rensburg delivered what he was chosen to deliver – a hard-nose presence in midfield, a try to boot, giving a competitive jolt to other contenders for that no.12 shirt with Seb Atkinson noticeably livelier and more involved. Alongside, Henry Slade filled the England shirt with the same energy and sharpness that is routinely on display in Exeter colours.

Fin Smith is blossoming in his own right and the shirt is his to lose between now and the World Cup. There is an assurance in his play now, a sense that he is not going through the playbook by rote, that comes from time on the field.

Has the centre partnership conundrum finally been solved after so much chopping and changing since Borthwick took over? There is only way to find out – get van Rensburg and Slade together again in Argentina as the starting combo. Van Rensburg has the clout as well as the cleverness to make things happen as they should happen down that No 12 channel. The South Africans are masters of that type of play – solid, reliable, effective, allowing the men either side of him to settle and thrive.

Fin Smith is blossoming in his own right and the shirt is his to lose between now and the World Cup. There is an assurance in his play now, a sense that he is not going through the playbook by rote, that comes from time on the field. The accuracy of his place-kicking should not be overlooked either. In much the way that Jonny Wilkinson’s regular hauls with the boot, keeping that scoreboard ticking over to offer succour to the beasts of burden up front, so too does Smith have that self-same potential.

On the other side of van Rensburg, it now looks as if Slade is finally managing to fill the shirt, doing as outside centres should do, locating space and finding opportunity. The 33 year old has not yet nailed down his position but suddenly the 10-12-13 axis looks to have mileage. Certainly Tommy Freeman is a better fit on the wing. Again, Borthwick can while away the long hours down to South America by sifting through those options on the flanks with Noah Caluori’s debut reaping an immediate return.

The full-back slot is there for George Furbank in the long-term but once again Marcus Smith showed his value to his squad. He is not a full-back but he is most certainly an international player: for his edge, his intent, his integrity on the field, probing as well as committing to everything he does, his latter assignment as an emergency scrum-half when Alex Mitchell was forced off passing off so well that Borthwick now has enhanced options on the bench.

What of the make-up of that bench for next Saturday? Henry Pollock to start rather than sit among the replacements? What more can he do to get the start that his talent screams out for him to have?

And what of the make-up of that bench for next Saturday? Henry Pollock to start rather than sit among the replacements? What more can he do to get the start that his talent screams out for him to have? The showmanship is an irrelevance, a sideshow for the modern audience. To lose one top-class operator (Jack Willis) from contention may be considered a misfortune, to lose two from starting consideration would be wilfully careless.

Pollock’s hat-trick cameo was a delight, showing a natural pace that few, if any, other back-rowers in the world game possess. And that speed is allied to an eye for a gap that would be the envy of any test three-quarter. Pick him and force the opposition to think twice about giving him any sort of licence to roam.

There are those who say that this match was rendered an irrelevance because of Fiji’s paltry display. They would be wrong. Borthwick can take plenty from it. We used to praise the All Blacks in their pomp for shredding such opposition. England did just that on Saturday.