“We left a few tries out there we felt, which was a little frustrating, like the two occasions where we went touch in goal over their line down mainly to sloppiness, but overall we're fairly pleased.

“In the first half we were okay, no more than okay mind, and then in the second half we improved and started to get through our shapes and patterns a bit more.

“Our fitness and our strike runners told as the game went on, and one very pleasing aspect was the performance of some of the guys who don't normally get the chance to start games.”

One such player was fullback Alex Tait, who grabbed a hat-trick of tries on his starting debut for the club.

“He did well, but then that came as no surprise to us because he's a good player,” said Fletcher.

“He hasn't just burst on to the scene, he has been progressing gradually in our academy for a number of years but we've just been developing him at his own pace as we do with all the youngsters. He's played for England at every age group, and it's no surprise he's making the sort of strides we saw today.

“He's a real running threat, he offloads, he tackles, he breaks defensive lines and with experience he will become much better. Some of his decision making at crucial times needs a bit of work, but he's young and that will come with games.”

With returning England centre Jamie Noon leaving the field just after the half hour, Fletcher said: “Noony took a bang on the head in what was a typically strong Jamie Noon tackle, but apart from being a little bit dazed we don't think he's too bad. Obviously he will have a cog test to see if he can play on Thursday, but at this stage he looks okay.”

Despite the emphatic scoreline Fletcher had nothing but praise for his Spanish hosts, stating: “Hats off to El Salvador, this was a massive game for them today and I think they did their club, their supporters and the whole of Spanish rugby proud with their attitude and application.

“It's vital that countries like Spain continue to get access to this competition, because it's only by playing fully professional sides that they will learn and progress the play in their own country.

“We saw a similar thing in the World Cup with the so-called smaller nations acquitting themselves well. The Spanish team today were very well coached, you could see that, and their spirit was fantastic, so I think they deserve their place in the Challenge Cup and I'm sure their results will improve given time.”

Turning attention to Thursday's televised clash against Brive, he added: “There's a very short turnaround after this game before Brive, so none of the boys will be out in Valladolid after the official reception, they will be switching on for what promises to be a tough game against a good Brive side at Kingston Park.”