Mike Tindall: 'England should be happy with Fiji win'

Former England captain Mike Tindall has said that the hosts' opening-day win over Fiji in the Rugby World Cup is "as good as anybody could have expected".

England began their bid for a second World Cup title with a bonus-point 35-11 triumph over the Fijians, who were expected to push them close, on Friday night.

Tindall, who was part of the 2003 World Cup-winning squad, believes that it was a near-perfect start.

"I think that England will be very happy with how it panned out," the 36-year-old former centre told Betway.

"It did not go entirely to plan but the weather made things a little tricky so the game was always likely to be slightly disjointed. To come away with a bonus point win is all you can ask for.

"At the start of the day people were saying that Fiji were going to run them really close, so to win by 24 points is probably about as good as anybody could have expected."

England's next Pool A match is against injury-hit Wales on Saturday.