Opening try: Manu Tuilagi
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England made it three away wins in the 2012 Six Nations when they weathered a France storm to run out 24-22 winners in Paris on Sunday.
The visitors outscored their hosts three tries to one in a thrilling encounter that went down to the wire as the French fought in vain to keep their 10-match unbeaten run at Stade de France intact.
It was a passionate performance from the English, who never relinquished their lead after centre Manu Tuilagi crossed for the opening try in the 13th minute of the match.
France's efforts in the first half had been disappointing, and the 14-9 deficit at the break was a good reflection of this, but also the superb work of the visitors.
England came out with the same passion and vigour in the second 40 as they had done in the previous half, bruising in the forwards and creative in the backs.
They were unrelenting up front, while France looked rudderless at times when they had the ball.
Their defence was outstanding and managed to hold France off on a weight of possession, until the French staged a dramatic fightback that was ultimately thwarted by their nemesis team.
England, mathematically at least, will head into the final weekend with a shot at the title - and Stuart Lancaster's bid to become the next full-time coach is building momentum. Wales, though, are now all but guaranteed the Six Nations title.
England's aggressive defence really rattled and disrupted France early on and the visitors took full advantage with two first-half tries.
Chris Ashton made a big hit on the halfway line and Owen Farrell and Lee Dickson combined to unleash Tuilagi who out-sprinted the cover to touch down in the corner.
Farrell converted with a terrific kick from the touchline and England doubled their lead five minutes later.
Number eight Ben Morgan thundered through the French defence before offloading to his namesake Foden and the England full-back scrambled to the line. Farrell added the simple conversion.
France kept in the game with three first-half penalties, Lionel Beauxis landing two and Julien Dupuy slotting one.
Farrell landed a penalty early in the second half as England survived a period with Charlie Sharples in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock on. On his return, though, Beauxis and replacement Morgan Parra cut England's lead.
However, the decisive moment came when Tom Croft was given space to hit full stride before cutting through the French line and rounding the cover.
Farrell's tough conversion was crucial as France rallied once again.
Finally France crossed the tryline to make it a tension-filled last five minutes as Wesley Fofana went over in the corner for his fourth try in as many matches after being fed by Parra, who then converted from the touchline.
The French went roaring back into the English half spearheaded by Aurélien Rougerie but replacement Francois Trinh-Duc's effort at a drop-goal fell short and England held on.
Man of the match: England's victory truly was a group effort, and a team gong is richly deserved. However, it's hard not to single out some outstanding performances - namely from Dan Cole, Geoff Parling and Owen Farrell. But in the end we thought Ben Morgan gave as good as he got with a tough and uncompromising effort at number eight for England.
Moment of the match: Take your pick! There were many, but England's third try did it for us as Tom Croft sent Aurélien Rougerie the wrong way and broke one tackle to touch down. Brilliant.
Villain of the match: There was a yellow card for Charlie Sharples, but we really don't think there was hardly any malice involved.
The scorers:
For France:
Try: Fofana
Con: Parra
Pens: Beauxis 3 , Dupuy, Parra
For England:
Tries: Tuilagi, Foden, Croft
Cons: Farell 3
Pen: Farrell 2
France: 15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yohann Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 William Servat, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 Francois Trinh-Duc, 22 Maxime Mermoz.
England : 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Charlie Sharples, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Mike Brown.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
By Dave Morris
Comments
liam2me says...
A good result for Club England.
I guess it would make a good trivia question - What's the record amount of non-English players to start for England in one game. I count 7 today in the starting XV
Posted 21:52 11th March 2012
felly says...
Also, Dusatoir - immense!!!
Posted 21:50 11th March 2012
felly says...
Happy for England but for the life of me can't understand the way that the French team functions sometimes. Their supporters must be the most let down in the world. Bags of talent, but very strange on-field decision-making.
Good luck to Wales with the Grand Slam. Feel they have their best performance to come yet, and are fully deserving of the title after their heroics against Ireland and England (and yet not played to their full potential)!
Posted 21:49 11th March 2012
Greenstone1408 says...
You have to question if the IRB can continue to maintain the fiction that Alain Rolland is an appropriate or impartial official for games involving France. It has to now be crystal clear following his recent application of the laws of the game in a different manner for France as opposed to their opponents and in games not involving them, that he is not impartial. Continued IRB support for him not only damages the games he is involved with but the overall credibility of the how the international game is run.
Posted 21:30 11th March 2012
Dafydd29 says...
england won, but to call that effort "conquer Paris" just shows PR's bias.
Posted 21:11 11th March 2012
alanatleeds says...
It is so good to see the team spirit that England have lacked since Martin Corrie. Stuart Lancaster for Prime Minister!
Posted 21:05 11th March 2012
mlbp says...
Dismal performance by France again. Horrible decision making and very poor execution at times. England had some composure at times (at other they were dreadful too) but that composure and their relentless defence won them the match. England have a base to build from, a young team with promising players who have to polish a few aspects but they will be a menacing prospect in the future. Their match against Ireland will be a fantastic show on St Patrick's.
France have a lot to think about this week and in the future. You cannot expect PSA to deliver so soon but I found the backs over-laboured and without direction. If they hung on to such a narrow defeat was because of excellent individual performances by a few players and their individual quality, because they did not gel as a team. Their sluggish performances against the two weakest teams in the competition were just proof of how they are a liability. They drew against a tough team at home and now they lost to a hard-nosed no-nonsense England. If O'Connell had any hair on his head he would be tearing at it now after having seen an English team like this beating the French at home and not themselves.
Harinordoquy was back at his best, Fofana finds gaps where there looks to be none, Poitrenaud did a great job both in defence and attack and Dusautoir again was a destructive force, but the decision making by Beauxis was extremely poor. I don't know if he plays in shackles (if PSA told him to kick and kick and play as he did) or he is not good enough for this level. I think they want him as a one-dimensional fly-half instead of a player who can pull the strings and make decisions. I even thought that France were missing Trinh-Duc's breaks and runs. And the scrum-half problem for France is clear too. If Yachvili is their best option then they are in trouble.
Posted 20:57 11th March 2012
adamk says...
Thought Rolland was good today. Sharples yellow was always going to happen. There was too much of a 'grey' area for the Fofana knock on, but Sharples was a clear deliberate slap down.
Best match of the tournament so far. Opens up the top 4 as well. Fair play to Wales, they have it now.
Posted 20:12 11th March 2012
cheeky says...
What a fantastic game of rugby. Brilliant to see this young England team maturing every week! Can only hope they play as well next week against Ireland. Should be some match!
Posted 19:56 11th March 2012
dannyc28 says...
I don't like many of the referees but Rolland has got to be one of the worse. His decision to yellow card Sharples was completely wrong. Especially as it was only moments after Fofana had been adjudged to have deliberately knocked on. I know now have an idea how the welsh must have felt. Nowhere near as an important decision I know but I can see it now.
Well done England, you made me proud today, as you have throughout this championship. I bet Stuart Barnes and Dean Ryan plus many other so called experts who got down on England are starting to have to change their tune. Amazing strides made by Lancaster in such as short time. It would be a travesty now to give the job to someone else and take away all the good work he has done and start again. Mallet wanted the job, then didn't, then wanted it again. Too late matey in my opinion. Not saying SL will lead us to the promised land but he has and will continue to install pride and passion in the shirt that I don't think the other candidates will ever get close too. His tactical approach will improve as his experience comes. Get us back to where we want to be, dining at the top table and competing properly with the best the world has to offer. Lets give SL, his coaching team and the EPS the chance they deserve, they have earned it.
Posted 19:32 11th March 2012
kenttaff says...
few things to mention from my opinion (which counts for zip i know) alan roland should never referee a french team again, as he is determined to help them along where he can. harinordaquay should of been man of the match as he tried tirelessly for 80 minutes - only french player to do so. what is the point of chris ashton? least effective winger in the tournament, does not look for work. why was ben morgan taken off? he was superb. dylan hartley, matt stevens not international level front rowers. owen farrell the future, unfazed by who is up against. SL and AF to get job permanently shown tremendous vision. france should not pose a problem for wales on that performance
Posted 19:30 11th March 2012
papachinzo says...
Imanol Harinordoquy was 'man of the match' in my opinion, he was one of only two French players who gave everything in that match, the other being Aurélien Rougerie, he totally out did himself. Imanol was all over the pitch and the main reason why France only lost by two points and not more.
I think England played good, they have the best 'team work' in the world at the moment, but I still think they lack skill full players who can make something magic happen at the right time.
I think this will be the difference next week when they play an inform Irish side. then again, like France, Ireland have lacked that 'team spirit' for quite some time now, but always seem to find it against the English, like we saw last year.
Posted 19:22 11th March 2012
Big_Kav says...
Great game to watch as a neutral, England deserved the win (despite the best efforts of Rolland with that howler of a yellow) though they weren't overly dangerous looking for most of the match, they took their chances well, and were solid in defense. Crofts try was a fantastic piece of individual play. France were very ordinary once again, Beauxis was poor and I think somebody should translate the 'chase' part of the phrase 'kick and chase' because something seems to be lost in translation. Parra was a live wire when he came on, he really should have started and Harinordoquy had a great game. That much vaunted consistency that the current French management was to bring seems to be developing, as they're consistently mediocre. Can't wait for the Ireland England game next week, should be a cracker!
Posted 19:14 11th March 2012
sirjona says...
Nice display from England but it was marred by poor discipline and the one thing I hate in rugby, Dylan why do you think it is your position to argue with the ref. It is the captains place to have discussions not someone who struggles to string a sentence together, carry on and we will be ending up in the same dire place that football currently sits.
Posted 18:36 11th March 2012
FatboyGinge says...
A great win for England. Still can't for the life of me work out how that was a yellow card for Sharples. All I can think is that Rolland suddnely remembered his heritage again.
Posted 18:33 11th March 2012
Rosbif says...
Firstly: "Well Played Eng"
Hmmm. I'm getting bored with this Lagisquet-inspired defensive system. OK, so Fra don't give away many penalties, but I'd rather they compete at the breakdown and "risk" a few pens, than simply give the opposition the ball, the gain-line, several metres in every contact situation, and a 12-14 point headstart EVERY GAME. Just compare that with how Ire last week and Eng play. Two teams constantly disrupting rucks, not rolling away, not releasing tackled player, occupying the gate, standing offside in the centre (the BBC team call it "line speed") etc etc. But refs don't ping them at every ruck, otherwise there'd be no game to watch at all. Meanwhile, Fra just let other teams play. How utterly naive.
That said, Fra should have sneaked this one. The final charge, led by T-Duc's chip from inside 22 re-gathered by Rougerie, has at least 2 clear pens not awarded. Palmer's tackle on Dusautoir on 77.11 is a mile offside. Very smart though. Early on in the move and at the edge of kicking range. But then Farrell on Hari on 77.41 is similarly blatant. Centre field. On the 22. Then doesn't release or roll away. The Fra momentum is stopped completely. So Fra have no option but to go for the drop-goal. Where is Rolland in all this?? I won't even bother with what the BBC commentary team sees, or says......
Last week it's Heaslip being feted for winning a pen off Meastri (which should have gone the other way) in the shadow of Ireland's posts on 78.15 mins that "wins" a draw for Ire. This week it's Farrell on Hari in a similar "at the death" moment.
I realise I'm a (one-eyed) Frenchman, but does no-one else see this stuff? The French TV commentary certainly does. Anyone watch this game from SA, Aus or NZ. What do the pundits see/say over there? Or is it just more of the same praise for Eng??
Posted 18:33 11th March 2012
jehosophat says...
If French tv wanted to give man of the match to the most influential frenchman on the pitch they should have picked Rolland! If that was really 11-4 in penalties to France, and the English knock on was any worse than the French, I'm Zlog from the planet Zoltan.
Posted 18:32 11th March 2012
weavo says...
o
Posted 18:26 11th March 2012
ben7 says...
Wow. 3 awesome tries by england! well deserved
Posted 18:13 11th March 2012
golden_statenba says...
I'm starting to think that France treat every game as a practise game and then unleash against the ABs?
Very frustrating team to watch. I feel for their supporters.
Well done England
Posted 18:13 11th March 2012