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England's fringe players put down marker against Wales

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

The unbeaten start to the Eddie Jones era continues to rumble on after an understrength England saw off Wales but this was the most curious of matches.

Defensive patterns went amiss, discipline was slack at best giving it that end-of-season carnival feel. It was full of Bank Holiday excess. There was limited rhyme and reason to the whole affair but Jones will be much happier following this Test as he takes his England side to Australia than his opposite number Warren Gatland who journeys south to face the All Blacks.

England were without 11 of the 32-man squad named for the tour Down Under; Grand Slam mainstays were absent due to Aviva Premiership final duties giving those on the fringes a chance to state their claims in front of a Twickenham stadium brimming with red and white.

Accuracy was at times lacking but when England's backline got going, with Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson working beautifully in tandem, they looked dangerous. Yet there are questions over fly-half George Ford's confidence after he missed six of his seven kicks.

What will give England heart in this department is their policy of having Owen Farrell as their frontline kicker, but Ford looked low on confidence in the first half before finding more of his natural range in the second when kicking from hand. There seems to be work to be done with Ford to help him realise his limitless capabilities as a No. 10. The booing from sections of the crowd when he missed a couple of kicks was unhelpful and in poor taste.

Jones said earlier in the week he knows his 15 for the first Test in Brisbane but the performances of Marland Yarde and Joe Launchbury -- who were out of England's XV in the recent championship -- would have given him welcome food for thought. The duo played wonderfully with Yarde showing a similar hunger to his performance in the Challenge Cup final when he was by far Harlequins' most effective player.

Launchbury was the standout player on the field, pilfering lineout ball and generally being an omnipresent body in defence and on the ground. The Six Nations saw George Kruis and Maro Itoje lock down the second-row berths but Launchbury showcased his capabilities brilliantly as he made 13 carries, 10 tackles and two turnovers.

Elsewhere, Watson impressed with a remarkable finish while Jack Clifford did well in the loose but lacked the same control at the back of the scrum that Billy Vunipola brings to England's pack. Luther Burrell probably played well enough to take the vacant spot on the plane to Australia where, if he gets the nod, will be joined by his Northampton teammate Teimana Harrison who coped well on his debut but failed to get on the right side of the referee and his indiscipline may worry Jones.

Indiscipline was an issue that dogged England in the first half as they conceded seven penalties to Wales' three but Gatland's side failed to find a consistent tempo.

Dan Biggar and Rhys Webb worked brilliantly in tandem while Jamie Roberts played well. Ross Moriarty was their standout forward but their defence was uncharacteristically porous. They clearly felt Dan Cole knocked on in the lead up to Clifford's try but then failed to shut down the runaway back-row and the ease with which Ben Youngs swerved his way through the Wales defence for his score would have infuriated Shaun Edwards. Their lineout also creaked -- partly due to Launchbury's brilliance but also a lack of accuracy -- and they have plenty to ponder ahead of their series against the All Blacks.

For England, they are now six from six under Jones; everything is hunky-dory in red rose rugby after their dismal World Cup. But they will know full well that Australia will offer a much sterner challenge.

The match, criticised by some as a purely an occasion to bolster the respective unions' coffers, would have proved more valuable for England than Wales. Apart from getting matchtime under their belt, Wales fell to a youthful England team who had never played together. They will feel angry having had a chance to evolve.

England are now off Down Under, taking a brand of 'bodyline rugby' as Jones has labelled it. As the full-time whistle blew at Twickenham, the sun peaked through the sky above the full stadium. Everything is rosy in the Jones era but bigger challenges await in Australia.