Pool C: England - 111 Uruguay - 10 On another day a record English World Cup victory might have made a longer-lasting impact. Even 17 tries, however, could not compete in terms of novelty value with Wales' effort against New Zealand, and there was a further post-match twist with the news the Wasps lock Simon Shaw is flying out as cover for the injured Danny Grewcock.
Shaw is due to arrive in Brisbane tomorrow morning after Grewcock injured his left hand during the ritual slaughter of Uruguay. The Bath captain has already suffered a broken toe at this tournament and, with Martin Corry having tweaked a hamstring, Shaw has every chance of sitting on the bench for Sunday's quarter-final against Wales.
Grewcock's continued presence rests on further scans today, when Iain Balshaw will also be praying for encouraging medical news. The winger had looked back to his best in scoring two sizzling tries in three minutes but suffered a sprained right ankle was stretchered off.
As the flanker Richard Hill has not played since the opening game with a hamstring strain that was initially dismissed as nothing to worry about, it will be interesting to see if the medical team's diagnosis proves more accurate. Immediately after the game, though, Balshaw was at least up on his feet.
Even during the post-match questions, the English management's eyes could not help straying towards the screens on the far wall of the media centre. Surely it could not be true? Wales beating New Zealand? Clive Woodward, for a split second or two, looked like a scientist who had just discovered the earth is, after all, completely flat. We shall never know how Woodward would have reacted had his team, despite winning all four of their pool games, ended up with a last-eight date with the All Blacks.
Uruguay's manager Daniel Herrera had it about right when he compared the contest to a Ferrari racing against a bicycle. There are only 300 active players in Uruguay and their best XV were still heavy-legged from their win over Georgia. The upshot, after a genuinely competitive first 15 minutes, was a comprehensive smashing of the River Plate's finest.
If you forget those early stages, when England were guilty of many of the same frustrating errors which had infested their early games, their backs, in particular, gave a clinical exhibition of precision, power and pace and would almost certainly have troubled more organised sides than Uruguay. Top of the form on this occasion was the full-back Josh Lewsey who scored five tries to equal the English record shared by Rory Underwood and Dan Lambert.
Given Lewsey was a member of the England touring squad who lost 76-0 on this same ground to Australia five years ago, even the 26-year-old conceded it felt good "to exorcise some ghosts" albeit against a very different calibre of opposition.
Lewsey's quintet were due reward for his hard, straight running and he also had a hand in several other English scores, with Balshaw, Mike Catt, Andy Gomarsall and Jason Robinson also collecting a brace apiece. If Balshaw, until his injury, looked wonderfully sharp, Catt was equally eye-catching and, at this rate, could yet be an important contributor to England's cause in the knock-out stages.
Stuart Abbott was also singled out for praise by Woodward, justifying his selection with a lovely jinking run to score one of 11 English second-half tries, but it was Catt who raised the century in the 72nd minute, taking England past their previous best of 101 against Tonga in the last World Cup. As Uruguay's coach Diego Ormaechea pointed out, his team would have offered stiffer resistance had they not been forced to play two big games within five days but Los Teros did at least breach England's defence, the prop Pablo Lemoine crashing over in the 47th minute.
All of which leads to the inevitable question of whether a tournament designed to showcase elite rugby should allow these sort of mismatches in future. Frankly, what matters is not whether Uruguay deserved to be here but whether the International Rugby Board wants them to be competitive in four years' time. If so, they urgently need more financial help and coaching assistance. If not, the IRB should announce this week that only 16 teams will contest the 2007 event and accept their globalisation of the game has failed. It would be a sad day, not just for Uruguay, if they decide the latter.
ENGLAND: Lewsey; Balshaw, Abbott, Catt, Luger; Grayson, Gomarsall; Leonard, West, Vickery (capt), Corry, Grewcock, Worsley, Moody, Dallaglio. Replacements: Robinson for Balshaw, Johnson for Corry (44 mins); White for Vickery (52 mins); Greenwood for Grayson, Bracken for Gomarsall (61 mins).
URUGUAY: Menchaca; Pastore, D Aguirre (capt), De Freitas, Viana; S Aguirre, Campomar; Berruti, Lamelas, Lemoine, Bado, Alvarez, Brignoni, Grille, Capo. Replacements: Sanchez for Berruti (47 mins); Alzueta for Alvarez (52 mins); Reyes for Viana (52 mins); Gutierrez for Grille (57 mins); Perez for Lamelas (57 mins); Storace for Lemoine (70 mins); Caffera for Menchaca (71 mins).
Referee: N Williams (Wales).
