Mike Brown scored two tries as England claimed a nervy 35-11 win over Fiji in the World Cup opening match at Twickenham yesterday.
Billy Vunipola scored a last gasp try that gave the victory respectability and maximum bonus points in Pool A -- the World Cup's so-called Pool of Death.
Jonny May said it was "we could have won a bit better, but it is a potential banana skin out of the way."
Also drawn against Australia and Wales, the tournament hosts would have wanted to launch their World Cup campaign in style.
But for much of the match they were imprecise against a powerful Fiji side.
However, Brown's running ensured England made the winning start they wanted above anything else in front of the packed 82,000 crowd who wanted nothing less than victory.
After a spectacular opening ceremony featuring Prince Harry and some rugby legends, England soon found themselves 15-0 ahead.
Fiji surprise England
England, playing in their change kit of red after Fiji won the toss to wear white, went ahead early on when fly-half George Ford kicked a 40-metre penalty following a collapsed scrum.
When Fiji were penalised for lifting England wing Jonny May, Ford kicked for a line-out inside the Pacific Nations Cup champions' 22 metre line.
They won the ball and from a rolling maul, South African referee Jaco Peyper awarded a penalty try and also sin-binned Fiji scrum-half Nikola Matawalu.
Ford converted, with Fiji a man down in the 14th minute.
If there was no scorer for England's first try, there was no doubt about the identity of the man who grabbed their second when Brown capped a well-worked move seven minutes later.
Blindside flanker Tom Wood stole a Fiji line-out near the islanders' line and England, making light of tricky conditions for handling rugby, worked the ball from right to left, with lock Geoff Parling, centres Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joesph shifting the ball quickly to create space for Brown, who stepped inside his man to place the ball.
Fiji nearly hit back with a spectacular try of their own. Matawalu, back on the field after his 10-minute suspension, broke off the back of a wheeled scrum from 30 metres out and sprinted down the right touchline after great work at the set-piece by prop Campese Ma'afu.
It looked as if Matawalu had scored one of the great World Cup tries but the score was cancelled when replays revealed that, under pressure from Brown, he had lost possession trying to ground the ball.
But Fiji, putting pressure on England's scrum, did have a try a minute later on the half-hour mark when giant wing Nemani Nadolo leapt high over opposing England flyer Anthony Watson to grab Ben Volovola's hanging kick.
