England v France: Winners and losers as Steve Borthwick takes ‘refreshing’ approach with ‘pressure’ switching to Fabien Galthie

Following England’s 26-25 win over France in the Six Nations, here are our key winners and losers from a breathless Test at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

Winners

Fin Smith

The big winner from England’s win is, of course, player of the match Fin Smith, who was simply impeccable. He got off to a shaky start, being charged down early doors, but he quickly brushed that off to have a stormer in his maiden Test start. The Northampton back guided England around with a precision and clarity they’ve not had in some time, but yet still got them playing that fast-paced, expansive style that both fans and Steve Borthwick are after. He also displayed his clinical nature by adding that conversion to seal the win, which iced a solid performance.

Elliot Daly

There were a few eyebrows raised over his inclusion, but boy did he prove them wrong in a brilliant cameo. Daly’s try will certainly dominate the headlines for some time, given the timing and the actual quality of it, but aside from that he made a real impact and looked like the Daly of old. He constantly looked for work, and crucially punched different holes which England just were not exploiting before his introduction.

England bench

Over the past year, England’s bench has been found wanting, but they were the key to the victory. As mentioned above, Daly was outstanding upon his entry, but he wasn’t alone in this. Jamie George was exceptional in his stint, channelling the George of the 2016 tour to Australia at times with his line-breaks, Ollie Chessum added impact in the tight exchanges, Ben Curry slotted straight in and formed a solid combination alongside Ben Earl and brother Tom. The front-row also had a decent go of it, notably Fin Baxter who added his name to the scoresheet too.

Tommy Freeman

He never stopped working all game and thoroughly deserves his place in the winners section after a try-scoring showing in the white jersey. Freeman seems to be growing in confidence every time he plays Test match rugby and was a real nuisance to France as a carrier throughout. Beat Louis Bielle-Biarrey in the air to claim his second-half try and was a key part of this Six Nations victory that puts England in the hunt.

Steve Borthwick

This victory will taste extra sweet for Borthwick as he was under pressure following their recent run of defeats to Tier One sides. Finally that monkey is off his and the team’s back and they can celebrate beating one of the best sides in world rugby. They weren’t perfect of course and France were notably sloppy but they came out on top and that’s all that matters as Borthwick‘s bench finally did a job to see the team home.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey

He might have ended up on the losing side but Bielle-Biarrey continues to show signs he is destined for great things with a two-try showing, adding to the brace he grabbed against Wales in Round One. Posed a constant threat for England whether that is in possession or chasing kicks in behind, Bielle-Biarrey has such a bright future in the game and expect him to only get better for both Bordeaux-Begles and France.

Opinion: ‘Pinch-me moment’ for Steve Borthwick as England banish ‘ghosts of blunders past’

Losers

Unused substitutes

Apologies to Chandler Cunningham-South and Harry Randall but it is refreshing to see a head coach resist the temptation to make changes for changes sake. England’s back-row was purring and a further alteration was unnecessary while Alex Mitchell was doing just fine at nine. Coaching staff can be overly swayed by stats in this day and age but keeping Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Mitchell on was the right thing to do. Unfortunately for Cunningham-South and Randall it might sting a touch but no doubt they were all about the team after a much-needed win.

Marcus Smith

Not his best performance by any stretch as his goal-kicking in particular was far from perfect. In other areas of his game he did perform well and has probably done enough to keep the 15 shirt in Round Three as he certainly offers a running and kicking threat in his new position and covers the back field well. However, he might not have the kicking responsibilities against Scotland with his namesake possibly taking over.

Damian Penaud

A try scorer in defeat but, much like his team-mates, it was a sloppy performance from the usually faultless wing. He recently scored six tries for Bordeaux-Begles but looked miles short of that level on Saturday as he dropped several passes and struggled in the conditions. He won’t be happy with his showing at Twickenham and Penaud will be determined to put things right when Les Bleus return to action against Italy.

Antoine Dupont

It might seem harsh but from the impressively high standards he sets we expect greatness every game from Dupont. He will no doubt relive that dropped catch for days to come and one wonders how much he missed Toulouse club-mate Romain Ntamack outside him at number 10.

Fabien Galthie

Grand Slam hopes were extinguished for Galthie and France after this defeat and he will be furious with their performance at Twickenham. Countless errors blighted their game as simple, often try-scoring passes weren’t sticking and it finally came back to bite France as England struck late on to seal victory. No doubt there were a few stern words in the changing room and Galthie will demand a reaction against Italy. The pressure also increases on the head coach given that this ‘golden generation’ has only won a single Six Nations title over the past five years. They could still claim the silverware but that requires emerging victorious in Dublin which, on Saturday’s evidence, looks unlikely.

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