England's achievements, Lions coaches and England's Player of the Series all feature in Stuart Barnes' talking points..
1. This was England's second finest achievement of the professional age. Obviously the 2003 World Cup tops the charts, but to win 3-0 in Australia eclipses any of the Grand Slams achieved since 1995 (not that we have to use too many hands to count).
To contextualise the achievement, it would be fair to rank this Wallaby World Cup squad - and yes, they had absentees - as an inferior side to the 2001 side that beat the Lions but a much stronger unit than the ones who lost 2-1 to the Lions in 2013. And we can all remember the brouhaha when the Lions beat a team with James O'Connor masquerading as a fly-half.
2. In Australia, I am frequently informed that Eddie Jones has a short lifespan; that he will do a great job for two years until his endless energy exhausts all and sundry. On the evidence of this tour, he has a group of players ready to do whatever it takes to become world champions.
It may well be that the trials and tribulations he has suffered and enjoyed since leaving Australia have made him a better and more balanced coach. The players are treated as adults; a few beers are fine; hard work has its rewards.
The players talk of the fun they have with Jones. I get the sense the world might just be set to see the very best of this engaging character.
3. This is not a bad Australian team. It was an awful lot more threatening with Matt Toomua operating as Bernard Foley's eyes and ears at inside centre. He stretched the game, broke for Israel Folau's try, tackled well. He looked like the man Australia missed in the first two Tests. He also looks like the midfield man who will thrive working alongside Aaron Mauger at Leicester. The Wallabies loss for a while is set to be Leicester's gain.
4. Contenders for England's Player of the Series? There are many. Mako Vunipola for his magnificent carrying and tackling efforts, Dylan Hartley for his leadership, Chris Robshaw for his determination and sheer will to win. He has answered his critics like a really good 'un. Big Billy - what a carry from that scrum and what a second half in Melbourne.
Behind the scrum, George Ford merits a mention for bouncing back from his horrid year while Owen Farrell's goal-kicking was majestic. All of them were heroic (and plenty others too) but surely the award goes to James Haskell for the two greatest games of his career.
5. New Zealand may have lost some of the biggest names and greatest players in the history of the sport but they are in no hurry to lose their world No 1 status. The gulf between them and Wales grew greater and greater as the series progressed. By the final Test, any pretence at being a contest either side could win was gone.
Some talk of the significance of losing Richie McCaw and Dan Carter but are Kieran Read and Aaron Smith not the most influential No 8/9 partnership on this planet? Warren Gatland is hot favourite to be appointed Lions manager but still his failure to beat the best of the southern hemisphere (Australia 2013 were, as mentioned earlier, awful) doesn't convince that he is the right man.
6. Suddenly, the name 'Jones' was being touted as a potential Lions manager. He has the ability to get a great deal from players in a short time (one of the keys to being a successful Lion King) and would not be intimidated by New Zealand rugby.
However, he told our outstanding rugby reporter, Graham Simmons, that his unavailability was a 100 per cent certainty. Shame because he could have done a smart job for the Lions...
7. On the subject of Dan Carter, how about the Top 14 final. Racing 92 down to 14 men for most of the match (and that man, Maxime Machenaud, is a key player in their pattern) and yet they find the game to beat Toulon.
Europe was an anti-climax but this win, in front of 99,000 spectators in Barcelona, is the stuff from which dreams are made and a great reason to come to Europe for the rugby as well as the money.
8. Sean Cronin might not be a starter for Ireland or even his provincial team, but if he is not a shoo-in as the third hooker for the Lions tour, I will be very disappointed. I am watching the Ireland game against South Africa in Port Elizabeth as I write. It is not an original idea. My commentary pal, Miles Harrison, is a great Cronin man and watching him sprint 50 metres from his own 22, I thought: 'Why not?'
9. Ireland threw the kitchen sink at the Springboks and finished on the South African try line but they couldn't quite cross that line. Considering the number of missing Irishmen, this was a great effort and one to refurbish the reputation of Joe Schmidt - for those daft enough to doubt him.
They were clearly the better coached team but those Springboks are never easy to beat at home. They may have won their series but right now I would fancy the Wallabies to beat them, especially with Michael Cheika smarting from recent weeks.
10. Congratulations to England for winning the Under 20 World Championship against Ireland. It caps an outstanding few weeks for the English game. Given the dominance of the southern hemisphere in all grades of rugby for so long the very fact that the final was an England versus Ireland game was a reason for rugby's old world to celebrate.
That is it for a while, folks. It has been quite some year. There seems to have been hardly a day when this great game wasn't on my mind. I am going to take a few weeks off to read some books, drink some red wine and wake up without wondering what the next news story is going to be.
Thanks for staying with the column, it's much appreciated as ever.
Stuart