England will only really know next weekend whether this record-breaking result means anything, but on an afternoon when not only a win but a convincing victory would keep their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals alive, this was a case of job done for Brian McDermott and his side.
With the shortened and controversial group stage format meaning just one defeat is near-ruinous, even the head coach broke ranks this week and admitted England's chances of qualification are slim at best after the 30-12loss to Tonga on the opening weekend. Samoa's big 64-6 win against Papua New Guinea earlier on Saturday meant the permutations became simple but daunting. Samoa beat France 78-4 last week, giving them a plus-132 points differential; England, now have a plus-64 points differential.
Above all, England need a favour from Tonga against Samoa next Sunday. Should the Samoans win, England are going home. But, if Samoa slip up – entirely possible in a hotly contested game akin to State of Origin – then a second big England win could be enough.
When kick-off arrived in Perth on Saturday, England knew they had to overturn a 150-point swing on Samoa between now and the end of the group stage. To that end, eroding more than half that deficit in one match represented a positive outcome as McDermott's pre-tournament promise of expansive rugby bore fruit at just the right time.
That said, it was not clear if England were mindful of the permutations in play during a tense opening quarter. At the midway point in the first half, the game was scoreless, with France doing a wonderful job of resisting the English challenge, some frustrating attacking play allowing the harshest critics of the national team to sharpen their knives.
But Dom Young's try 15 minutes from the break opened the floodgates. In 55 minutes England scored 14 tries, with a string of outstanding individual performances and an 82-point winning margin that at leaves qualification still possible, albeit improbable.
Should England beat Papua New Guinea by a margin of 68 points in Wollongong on Friday, a Tongan victory of any kind would see McDermott's side sneak through to the semi-finals. If the winning margin is smaller than 68, they would need Tonga to pick up the slack in their own winning margin. Unlikely? Perhaps. But the manner of this win means they remain in the conversation.
"What we've done today is enormous given the context," McDermott said. "We knew we had to win big and we've done it without getting distracted."
France were emphatically beaten here, and have now conceded 160 points in two games, raising again questions about the strength of French rugby league. They did frustrate England early on but once Young crossed, France could not hold back the tidalwave of points.
By half-time England had 34, with another five tries before the break. Three of them went to the outstanding Herbie Farnworth, who underlined his status as the world's best centre with a devastating display.
George Williams and Matty Ashton were the other first-half try-scorers but, even with such a commanding half-time lead and the game over as a contest, it was clear England could not afford to let up. Fortunately, they kept at the task in emphatic fashion.
There were eight more tries after the break, with Young completing his hat-trick alongside Farnworth. The introduction of the Hull KR duo Jez Litten and Mikey Lewis was also key, with the pair exploiting an exhausted French defensive line, as Litten finished a fine break for his own try before Lewis scored twice in six minutes.
Victor Radley and Jack Welsby also crossed and at one stage in the final quarter, England scored four tries to move 76-0 ahead, with a real chance they could even reach 100. Yet there was only the late try AJ Brimson's display merited as England declared on 82. Time will tell whether that is enough, but on a day when the pressure was at its highest, England did what was required.