Wales may officially be top of the Six Nations table after the opening round of games, but it was a weekend that cemented England's tag as pre-tournament favourites.
Eddie Jones's side aren't in the habit of losing, their 15 game winning run is now their longest ever.
The nature of their 19-16 win against France on Saturday is what will please Jones the most though. The three point victory at Twickenham is the smallest margin of those 15 games, forcing them to dig deeper to grind out a win in the last 10 minutes, proving they have the mettle to get the job done when the going gets tough.
The fact that they did so without the likes of Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola, George Kruis and Chris Ronshaw in their pack will also bring a smile to Jones's face.
15 IN A ROW 🌹
England have won 15 matches on the bounce for the first time ever...
Here's how they did it: https://t.co/sH6ZdXsBEZ pic.twitter.com/pyO6TZTh9w— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 5, 2017
The did show vulnerability though, and that's something Wales will be studying intently, ahead of Saturday's huge game in Cardiff.
England were indisciplined in the first half, conceding seven penalties, and while they got back on referee Angus Gardner's good side as the game wore on, it's an area Wales can target.
Rob Howley's side will need a huge step up from their own first half performance against Italy though.
They may have ran in late tries, and came agonisingly close to a bonus-point, but it was an opening game they'll be quick to forget. They went to Rome and while the banana skin briefly put them off balance, they stayed on their feet. A win next week against England would blow the tournament wide open.
With George North capable of this, anything is possible.
The weekend belonged to Scotland though, who caught Ireland on the hop and blitzed them at Murrayfield.
They tackled and tackled and tackled, and in between they scored three gorgeous first half tries. Two were sublime back play, stretching Ireland wide in an eerily similar fashion to Argentina at the World Cup. And in between those Stuart Hogg scores, there was a moment of cheeky brilliance from Alex Dunbar to stun the Irish lineout.
While their backline devastated Ireland, their pack frustrated Ireland. Jonny Gray in particular looked a Lion in waiting.
Jonny Gray (28) made a Test record number of tackles for Scotland; brother Richie not far behind (17)
— david kelly (@dk3lly) February 4, 2017
There's a lot of rugby to be played between now and the middle of March, but England remain the team to beat.
