Balshaw (right) - should recover from injury.

Josh Lewsey sent the records tumbling with five tries as England annihilated Uruguay 111-13 to take their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

The England full-back equalled Rory Underwood's five-timer against Fiji at Twickenham back in 1989 and Dan Lambert's five against France in 1907 as England scored 17 tries in all and ran in their highest-ever World Cup score.

"It's the stuff that boyhood dreams are made," said Lewsey. "But the performance was most important.

"We wanted a decent performance to go into the knockout stages with some structure under our belt. There were some very good tries today but we have bigger challenges ahead.

"I wasn't aware at the time that it was a record but Jason Leonard told me afterwards.

"It was nice to score but the way the back three players play is indicative of the rest of the team. The midfield had a very good game today and we showed what we are made of."

Head coach Clive Woodward was more delighted, however, that England's plans to stay in Brisbane for next week's quarter-final were confirmed with the top spot in Pool C.

"All our planning revolved around us staying here," said Woodward. "We're right on track and very pleased. I believe this is a big-match team."

Woodward's mood was further boosted when he learned that a second-half injury to two-try Iain Balshaw was not as bad as first feared. The Bath wing appeared to damage an ankle in a two-man tackle and was taken off on a stretcher.

"We're hoping it's not as bad as it looked," said Woodward. "He's walking around and we think it's a minor ankle sprain. He's got it strapped."

Martin Corry also suffered a slight twinge in a hamstring and was replaced by Martin Johnson.

Woodward, however, praised the performance of the entire team and insisted that Lawrence Dallaglio, the number eight he had asked for a big game during the week, would definitely play in the quarter-final.

"Lawrence had a good game tonight," said Woodward. "He's one of the leading players in the world. He'll be playing next weekend. I'm challenging all the players and he's no different.

"I thought Mike Catt had a tremendous game and added something to the team. Now the phoney war is over and I'm looking forward to being totally focused on the knockout stages."

Scrum-half Andy Gomarsall also took advantage of his first World Cup start to put some pressure on Matt Dawson and Kyran Bracken with a superb performance.

"Opportunities have been few and far between but it was fantastic to play," said Gomarsall. "The atmosphere was unreal with the Barmy Army today when we ran out and this is why I play the game.

"Starting is a major achievement in this team. For me the competition is very fierce and I'm very pleased with the performance."

Meanwhile, Uruguay assistant coach Paul Healy admitted his side had been totally outplayed and tired after the effort expended in their triumph against Georgia.

"It's hard to assess England and how they are going because they were much better than us on the day," said Healy.

"They were very organised and you must have speed and be physical. They have all those things. You can't substitute for speed on the wing.

"Georgia was our focus and it was tough for us to get up mentally after a win against Georgia. It was a difficult day but we have enjoyed ourselves and at least we've had a victory at this World Cup.

Uruguay manager Daniel Vidiella put it into even sharper and more colourful perspective.

"It was the fight of the lion and the mouse even though for many minutes we did very good things," he said. "We tackled with great courage. But for most of the game it was like a Formula One riding against a bicycle."