England's players have spent much of the last 18 months being forced to justify some stultifying performances so it was no surprise that their joy came pouring out after an effervescent 23-20 win over France on Saturday.
Coach Eddie Jones had routinely dismissed the critics by saying there was no space in modern rugby to play the all-court game fans and media were crying out for, while flyhalf George Ford had explained away the endless tactical kicking by describing the ball as a"ticking time bomb in some areas".On Saturday it was back to being cherished and passed with speed and ambition, particularly in a wonderful first half where both teams poured on the style from the opening whistle.
"In camp, in training and in our bubble we have been building towards something," Itoje said."We have not been able to consistently convert that into the type of performance that we have wanted to have in games. "It's taken a while to get there but we're seeing the things we are practising in training coming to fruition. For large periods against Wales we attacked well. France are a very good defensive team and we felt like we were only one pass or ruck away from putting them away.""I thought the attitude throughout the game was brilliant, our belief in what we were doing when we got tested was fantastic," he said.
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