It was a day for records across the channel, too - or at least a record. France registered their highest win against Canada - 35-3 - not quite as impressive as the one England were rattling up concurrently, but these two European powers aren't going to quibble over details in these halcyon days.
Gerald Merceron returned to steer his team impressively, having missed France's record win against the beleaguered Springboks two weeks ago and the strange draw that they fought out against New Zealand last weekend. François Gelez, his stand-in for those games, was spared the chance to reprise his eccentric display against the All Blacks, and Merceron showed the youngster how coolly a game should be run, kicking 13 points in the process and instigating, among other things, the try that secured them the game in the 54th minute.
His kick behind the Canadian defence was gathered by Olivier Magne, and the flanker released Damien Traille for a simple run-in.
David Bory, another returning star who had missed the first two internationals of the autumn, got the first try of the game, and the French went into the changing room at the break 13-0 ahead - a score that did nothing to flatter them.
The rain lashed constantly, making any kind of fluency an elusive quality for either side. Raphael Ibañez had been denied a certain score by an unfortunate slip in that first period, but Traille's score in the second was inevitable given France's dominance.
Vincent Clerc, on the other wing from Bory, has enjoyed his autumn, scoring on his debut against South Africa, and he scored a brace in the final quarter to bring his tally up to three tries in three internationals. The first of these saw him sidestep his way through the defence for an exhibition score. If only there had been a full stadium to enjoy his flamboyance. Poor ticket sales had forced the authorities to close the upper tier at Stade de France, and a mere 50,000 witnessed this victory.
If only so many could have seen Australia at last record a win on their unfortunate tour. Genoa isn't famous for its rugby enthusiasm, so the Aussies may have worried that their precious victory might go unnoticed, but ultimately they will be relieved just to have recorded it.
The 34-3 win was a comfortable one, although Italy will be disappointed not to have scored during the periods of intense pressure that they inflicted on the Aussie line. Nevertheless, the class of world champions will always out, and so it did - tries from Justin Harrison, Matt Burke and Scott Staniforth secured them a comfortable half-time lead.
In the second half, the Italian defence started to fray in the face of the pressure that was now being turned on them, and Toutai Kefu and Elton Flatley capitalised with a couple of soft tries.
For Italy, hope was to be garnered from the promise of the half-back pairing of Juan Manuel Quierolo and Ramiro Pez, but, even though this was a significant improvement on their lame showing against Argentina last weekend, they will need to improve significantly again when they come to face their record-accumulating cousins in the Six Nations later this season.
Meanwhile, it's easy to forget amid the carnival that precious points are being fought over in the Zurich Premiership. Northampton came out on top in their tussle with Harlequins yesterday morning. Nick Beal scored a second-half brace, as they dispatched the visitors 35-7.
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