Corbisiero and fellow young prop Dan Cole helped England keep Italy’s much-vaunted scrum on a leash as they romped to a 59-13 win.

And the London Irish starlet, who was said to have passed his singing initiation in front of the rest of the squad with flying colours by Tom Wood, believes being thrown in at the deep end helped him settle at the top level.

“It was a real dream to be out there and an amazing experience to play for your country – it means everything,” said Corbisiero.

“They didn’t make the decision I was playing until Friday morning. It was probably easier just getting chucked in than having a long build-up and having it dwell on your mind a bit.

“There weren't many scrums but I thought the set-piece was really good for us. We contested really well in the lineout well and I just got on with what I needed to do around the park.

“You want to play for your country every time. Guys like Andrew Sheridan will probably be back but I stepped in and feel like I had a good performance.”