Three minutes into his long-awaited return to the international arena after a four-month absence, Billy Vunipola found himself crashing over Scotland’s try-line as England stormed to the Six Nations title at Twickenham.

The younger Vunipola brother replaced the impressive Nathan Hughes in the 54th minute to a standing ovation and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, although he did admit later that he was struggling and only found a second wind as the game drew to a close.

“I never expected anything like that,” said Vunipola. “I was just happy to be back on the pitch with the boys.

England vs Scotland player ratings Show all 30 1 /30 England vs Scotland player ratings England vs Scotland player ratings ENGLAND: 15-Mike Brown Busy game, his best for a while, not least for his left-footed kicking option. Equalled Matt Perry’s record as most-capped England full-back (36). 7/10 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 14-Anthony-Watson Frustrating day at the office. Did little wrong but not as involved as he should be. Still learning the Chris Ashton-style tracking skills. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 13-Jonathan Joseph Wonderful early try when he came short off Ford and jinked past Hogg for his fourth try of the tournament. Looked a class act once again. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 12-Luther Burrell Failed to trust his left-hand pass in first minute, butchering a try. Not hitting the heights of last year but offers a physical threat. AP England vs Scotland player ratings 11-Jack Nowell Relished the open spaces with ball in hand but blew a try and got sucked in too easily defensively. Still a work in progress at this level. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 10-George Ford Threatened Scotland throughout with his delayed passes on the gain-line. Ghosted through for valuable try soon after the break. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 9-Ben-Youngs Improvement from Dublin. Took more responsibility and varied his game well around fringes. Holding off Wigglesworth’s challenge. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 1-Joe Marler Penalised more than once at the scrum but, after 10 successive starts, has plenty of credit in the bank. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 2-Dylan Hartley His lineout arrows were slightly off. He remains under fierce pressure for the No 2 shirt from Tom Youngs. 5 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 3-Dan Cole Lucky to avoid yellow card for his goal-line lunge at the ruck. His discipline was a bit loose but put in good shift at the scrum. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 4 -Dave Atwood The Bath man is always a force in the maul and scrum but still needs to do bit more around the park. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 5-Courtney Lawes Big impact on his first appearance since the autumn. Prominent in lineout and put constant pressure on the Scots, as Russell can testify. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 6-James Haskell Questionable whether he is doing enough to fend off Wood’s challenge for the No 6 shirt. His forward pass denied Brown a second-half try. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 7-Chris Robshaw As consistent as ever. Stuart Lancaster’s fear must be whether the skipper can keep going at full throttle until the World Cup is done. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 8-Billy Vunipola Scotland kept him under wraps pretty well. Like Robshaw, no doubting his engine. His power from standing start is wondrous at times. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings SCOTLAND: 15-Stuart Hogg Saved Scotland three times with his last-ditch tackles on Burrell and Brown during the early English siege. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 14-Dougie Fife Will be pleased with his efforts after coming in for Sean Lamont. Did not look out of place and made crucial try-saving tackle on Nowell. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 13-Mark Bennett Looks set for a long spell in the No 13 shirt. The Glasgow centre took his try well and shows terrific composure for a 22-year-old. 8 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 12-Matt Scott Flew out the line to provide Joseph with his fifth-minute try. First Test start for a year and looked like it. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 11-Tommy Seymour Forced to switch from right to left wing and coped efficiently. Honours even with his battle with Watson. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 10-Finn Russell Good touches though did not enjoy the close attentions of Lawes and Co. But Scots must keep the faith - he can get a back-line moving. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 9-Greig Laidlaw Raised the tempo when called for. The experienced No 9 is a vital presence in such a young back-line. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 1-Alasdair Dickinson Tends to fade in later part of the match but his lineout work is as good as at any time in his career. 5 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 2-Ross Ford Tends to fade in later part of the match but his lineout work is as good as at any time in his career. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 3-Euan Murray Equalled Allan Jacobsen’s caps record for a Scottish prop (65). The former Lion still has plenty to offer, in the set piece at least. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 4-Jim Hamilton Brought in by Vern Cotter for his physicality and strength in the maul and he didn’t let his coach down. Is a more disciplined player these days. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 5-Jonny Gray Scotland’s captain-in-waiting according to some. A menace in the lineout and shows maturity beyond his years – he was 21. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 6-Robert Harley Possibly shaded the battle of the blind-sides. Likes to annoy opponents and generally succeeds. 6 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 7-Blair Cowan Earning an unwanted reputation for conceding penalties, but he remains a key cog in this side. One of the best turnover merchants around. 7 Getty Images England vs Scotland player ratings 8-David Denton Gave Scotland a good ball-carrying outlet and more bulk in the tight exchanges. Decent performance before giving way to Beattie. 6 Getty Images

“We have a great crowd here at Twickenham. Very humbling to get them cheering me like that.

“I think it was more for Hughesy coming off, he had a stormer today. I was just happy to add and help the team in any way I could.

“It’s tough [coming off the bench] because I’ve only played one game. This level is obviously a bit faster, a bit more physical.

“To come off having sat around for 50 minutes, it was tough for the whole 30 minutes, I was struggling a little bit and then when the game finished, suddenly found my second wind, so that was a bit of a shame.

“I thought the boys did unbelievable today and I was thankful to jump on at the end.”

Captain Dylan Hartley spoke before Saturday’s game of the importance of Vunipola and how much of a boost it is to have him back with the squad for the final push.

With the Calcutta Cup and Six Nations title already sown up, England head to Ireland with the view of a second consecutive Grand Slam – and setting a new world record for 19 wins in a row.

All the players spoke after the game of switching their attentions straight to the game in Dublin and while motivation is high, Vunipola is not looking to raise England’s performance again, but instead generate a level of consistency that has so far been missing during the championship.

“It [the Grand Slam] was our goal at the start of the tournament, or the team’s goal. We’re firmly pushing towards it. We’re going to have a good night tonight and look forward to next week tomorrow,” Vunipola added.

“I don’t think it’s raising it. It’s more kind of being consistent, being thorough with our analysis, seeing the areas where we can improve, giving the boys a pat on the back for the first half and the whole of the game.”

Ireland’s chances of winning the Six Nations vanished in Cardiff on Friday night as Wales scored three tries without reply.

However, the Saracens No 8 is not reading too much into the defeat and believes next Saturday at the Aviva Stadium will be Eddie Jones’ side’s toughest test to date.

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“Look it is a big occasion next week.

“It is the day after St Patrick’s Day, it is going to be very, very emotional so we are going to have to turn up with the right mindset to try to negate everything that they are going to bring on the mental side of things and try to impose the game plan that we have.

“It will be the toughest. It’s the next challenge and the next one is always the biggest one so we go there fully prepared.