Saints trio shine as England deliver superb World Cup win against Argentina

Alex Mitchell and Lewis Ludlam also impressed as the Red Rose proved the doubters wrong with a superb 27-10 success in Marseille.

England were reduced to 14 men after just three minutes as Tom Curry was sent off for a head-on-head collision.

But Steve Borthwick's side, with Lawes and Mitchell at the forefront, gritted their teeth to ensure they would get off to a winning start.

Ludlam came off the bench and also added a huge amount, racking up an astonishing 12 tackles in 14 minutes.

George Ford kicked all the points for England, including three first-half drop goals.

"I talked in the week about how I sensed from the players that they felt they'd been written off a little too early," Borthwick said.

"I think we've got a quality group of players and I reiterate that again, and you saw that on the pitch.

"That blend of experience - a lot of people have been talking and writing columns about that experience and I thought the players showed their experience on the big occasion.

"I am really pleased for the players because they have been putting in an enormous amount of hard work and you want to see the reward of it and players started to see the reward."

Ford claimed the headlines for his kicking display, while Borthwick praised Lawes and others for their excellent leadership.

"I thought George Ford was magnificent," Borthwick said.

"We can all talk about his kicking, what he did scoring the points but the composure and the management he showed throughout.

"It was another example of the great leadership in this England team. A lot has been said in the past about the leadership within the England team but what I see is a group that is packed full of senior pros who are fantastic leaders. Like the man next to me (Lawes), George Ford, we could discuss Jamie George, Ellis Genge, the list could go on."