Mitchell urges England to build on Six Nations rout of Wales / Photo: © AFP
Mitchell urges England to build on Six Nations rout of Wales
Alex Mitchell is adamant England's 68-14 hammering of Wales in Cardiff must signal the start of a new era for Steve Borthwick's men.
England ended this season's Six Nations as runners-up after their thrashing of Wales on Saturday wasn't quite enough to prevent them being pipped to the title by France.
Nevertheless, it was a sign of the progress England made during a tournament that started with a convincing defeat by defending champions Ireland in Dublin and even saw them booed by their own fans during a prolonged bout of box-kicking during a fortunate win over Scotland at Twickenham.
England, however, cut loose against Italy in round four before rounding off the championship in emphatic fashion by posting their highest score against Wales, with scrum-half Mitchell scoring one of their 10 tries in an utterly dominant display.
"We had a great mixture of our attacking game and our kicking game," said Mitchell. "And then we wanted to move the ball. That's a good blueprint to push forward with.
"Our attack's always been there but on occasions we don't go to it, we just go to the aerial battle. We need to move the ball to the edge and we've got the players to do that."
The 27-year-old added: "Look at our back three and our centres –- they're quality and if you give them one-on-one chances, they're normally going to beat their man and get us on the front foot.
"It's an exciting time for us. Sometimes we get a lot of heat but it's fantastic to get a win like that, especially in a (Principality) stadium like this which is a tough place to go."
England have looked far more secure in attack since Red Rose coach Borthwick installed Fin Smith, a half-back partner of Mitchell at English Premiership champions Northampton, at fly-half, with the team reeling off four successive wins including two one-point triumphs over France and Scotland.
"Fin's a classy operator," said Mitchell as he backed Smith to be selected for the British and Irish Lions' upcoming three-Test tour of Australia. "I'm always still shocked that he's only 22-years-old.
"He's been quality for Saints for a couple of years now. And coming into this set-up, he's not changed at all –- he's still a massive leader.
"He makes my job so easy and he's been quality in the four games he’s started. He's got a bright future. He's definitely in the mix for the Lions, but I'm not selecting the squad."
Lewis--TNT
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