England's unbeaten year was partly fuelled by a desire to atone for the disappointment of the 2015 Rugby World Cup according to Owen Farrell, who says the team's humiliating pool-stage exit made it "fight that bit harder".

Victory over Australia at Twickenham saw England end 2016 without a defeat in 13 matches, stretching its winning run to a national record-equalling 14 overall.

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Farrell, who featured in all four of England's matches in an ill-fated home World Cup last year, believes the experience may have been a subconscious motivating factor.

"I don't know about needing to go through it but I think it's helped," he said. "A lot of this group have gone through those emotions and a lot of lads have been picked up along the way as well.

"I guess whether you know it or not, it might help you fight that bit harder to get to where you want to get to.

"Nothing ever goes one way and this group's been through some tough ones, but hopefully it's just going to keep getting better now."

Despite matching a winning run only previously achieved by Clive Woodward's World Cup winners of 2003, there was a cautious mood among England players and staff after the match.

Rather than entering into a round of self-congratulation, the focus instead was on areas for improvement and the long-term goal of winning the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

"We are happy and we'll enjoy what we've done over these last four games, but we're not happy in terms of where we want to be," added Farrell.

"We want to be the best and we're not there yet. We've got to keep improving to do that, so we'll keep on it.

"You can do whatever - win however many games, win a trophy, win the next one - you've still got next year to play.

"It doesn't mean you don't want to get better. It has to be relentless if you want to get to where you're going to get to."

Farrell kicked 15 points for England in the win over the Wallabies.