How crafty of England not to raise their followers’ Rugby World Cup hopes too high too soon. Not even their most diehard fan could possibly claim this as the most exhilarating spectacle of the opening weekend, give or take two first-half tries inside eight minutes from a fit and charging Manu Tuilagi against a side who conceded 92 points to the All Blacks this month. If Eddie Jones’s team do end up enjoying a successful campaign, this game will not feature much on the highlights reel.

If not conceding a try for the second Test in a row clearly qualified as a positive, England will need rather more in the way of rhythm and accuracy if they intend to qualify ahead of both Argentina and France at the top of Pool C. Their next opponents, the United States, may also wonder if a glimmer of an opportunity awaits them in Kobe this Thursday. If this was the best available English combination, or close to it, might there conceivably be an opportunity to make American rugby great again?

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Or are England simply playing a clever long game, waiting until they really have to flick the turbo switch? Basing definitive World Cup forecasts on England’s early form also remains a notoriously inexact science. It is 28 years ago since they last lost their opening pool game and, with respect to Jonathan Webb and Rob Andrew who were their only points-scorers in a 18-12 defeat to New Zealand at Twickenham, that is slightly too long ago to have any great relevance.

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In the intervening period their tournament fortunes have been mixed to say the least and, assuming they get there, it will not be until next month’s knockout stages commence that we shall really know how well Jones’s grand plan is coming together. When they run straight and hard, kick out of hand accurately and maintain their discipline they are a reliably tough side to beat, regardless of the backdrop.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kyle Sinckler tries to get over the gain line for England, who put in a mixed performance against Tonga. Photograph: David Davies/PA

Fewer than four minutes of the match remained, however, when England belatedly clinched their four-try bonus point via Luke Cowan-Dickie after good work from his fellow replacement Jonathan Joseph. For all the talk of humidity, slippery palms and balls and entirely understandable nerves, it was impossible to ignore all the huffing and puffing, the double-digit penalty count or the similarly high number of handling errors. The sight of Jones bashing his desk in irritation when Kyle Sinckler conceded a dumb penalty for obstruction after Maro Itoje had gathered a totally innocuous restart was confirmation the management had been hoping for slightly better, even if he subsequently joked he was letting fly at the local mosquitos.

Thank goodness, then, for Tuilagi’s powerful contribution which earned him the man-of-the-match award. It feels like half a lifetime now since the Leicester centre was being fished out of Auckland Harbour to put the ill-disciplined seal on England’s ill-fated 2011 campaign in New Zealand. More off-field misadventures and a catalogue of injuries meant this was his first World Cup game for eight years and his desire to make up for lost time was obvious.

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Even Tonga, not exactly the frailest of opponents, struggled to contain him, not least when he accelerated on to a short ball from Ben Youngs down the blindside from a scrum and drove through four players to the line to the satisfaction of the television match official. His second try was rather more clear-cut, with England taking good, positive advantage of a hopeful kick aimed towards Anthony Watson. Although the Bath wing was collared the ball was swiftly recycled and the alert Elliot Daly released Jonny May into space on the left. May unselfishly found Tuilagi on his inside and Owen Farrell’s conversion gave England a 15-3 cushion seven minutes before the interval. “Manu’s only going to get better as the tournament goes on,” Jones murmured afterwards, repeating his belief this tournament will be a marathon not a sprint.

In the cold light of day, though, England will know they need to be more clinical. Youngs was held up over the line having taken a quick tap shortly before half-time while Henry Slade, drafted in at full-back after May went off with cramp, and Daly should have combined to put the latter over for a late score in the corner. It counted for little in terms of this particular contest with two further Farrell penalties and a lineout drive score for Jamie George stretching England’s advantage prior to Cowan-Dickie’s late score but there will be other days when it does matter.

Tonga deserved more than a solitary penalty from their scrum-half Sonatane Takulua, well known to Newcastle Falcons fans, and their replacement No 8 Nasi Manu was playing his first game since finishing treatment for cancer. The Pacific Island nations may be less well resourced than their European cousins but they continue to demonstrate that inexhaustible passion and heartfelt commitment still count for plenty.