England scored seven converted tries to thrash Italy 52-11 in Rome, but fell short of matching Ireland's points difference.
England finish this year's Six Nations with four wins from five matches and a points difference of +73, with Ireland (+81) set to play France in Paris later on Saturday.
The sense in the build-up had always been that Italy wouldn't be able to live with England's tempo, which had undone the best efforts of Ireland and Wales at Twickenham in recent weeks.
Their standout backs – Danny Care, Owen Farrell, Luther Burrell and Mike Brown – were all instrumental as ever, with Brown setting the try-scoring benchmark for Yoann Huget to match later on after scoring his third and fourth tries of the tournament.
Whatever happens in Paris, England have improved considerably in all facets of their play in this championship and deepened their squad in the process. Silverware or not, this has been a successful seven weeks for Stuart Lancaster and his team. It was their biggest win in Rome since 2004.
Italy – Try: Leonardo Sarto. Penalties: Luciano Orquera (2).
England – Tries: Mike Brown (2), Owen Farrell, Jack Nowell, Mako Vunipola, Manu Tuilagi, Chris Robshaw. Conversions: Owen Farrell (7). Penalty: Farrell.
Italy – 15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Subs: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Alberto de Marchi, 19 George Fabio Biagi, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan. 23 Andrea Masi.
England – 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Mako Vunipola
Subs: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Manu Tuilagi.
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
