England defeat France at Twickenham
Maro Itoje scored a late try to see England beat France 23-20 at Twickenham in the Guinness Six Nations.
Antoine Dupont dotted down inside the opening two minutes, collecting a clever chip-and-chase from wing Teddy Thomas, and handing the visitors an ideal start at Twickenham. Matthieu Jalibert added the extras.
England responded rapidly however, and setting up camp inside the French 22, they went through multiple phases of hard carries before a breakthrough on the nine-minute mark. Quick hands and smart running lines saw the ball shipped to Anthony Watson in space on the right flank, and on his 50th Test, the Bath man duly ran in his fourth try of the tournament. Farrell’s conversion levelled the game.
Captain Farrell gave England a six-point lead courtesy of two straightforward penalties inside the opening quarter, but Les Bleus stayed in reach, snuffing a promising English attack close to their line before a Jalibert penalty narrowed the deficit, and a converted Damian Penaud try put them back in the ascendancy - making it 13-17 at the break.
ENGLAND V FRANCE MATCH ACTION
Eddie Jones’ men started the second half brightly, threatening the French line twice early on, but were unable to turn promise into points. Both kickers continued their accuracy from the boot, Jalibert bagging another three-pointer on the 50-minute mark, and Farrell answering with one of his own four minutes later.
Both sides continued to jostle for possession and territory deep into the Test match, with neither defence giving an inch.
Snappy English attack saw them surge into Les Bleus' 22 with minutes remaining and Itoje powered over from close range to put England back in the lead. Farrell's conversion made it 23-20 and England held on to claim victory.
Reaction
We wanted to put it together and show everyone what we are really about, and I think you could see the togetherness of our squad today across the 80 minutes. That is what we’ve been striving for so we’ve set a benchmark."
Watson on England's performance
It was a great game of rugby to be involved in and France threw everything at it, credit to those guys, they played a great game of rugby as well. It was a joy to be a part of."
Watson on the win over France
Teams
England
15. Max Malins, 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Owen Farrell (C), 11. Jonny May, 10. George Ford, 9. Ben Youngs, 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Charlie Ewels, 6. Mark Wilson, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Billy Vunipola.
Finishers
16. Jamie George, 17. Ellis Genge, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Jonny Hill, 20. Ben Earl, 21. Dan Robson,
22. Ollie Lawrence, 23. Elliot Daly.
France
15. Brice Dulin, 14. Teddy Thomas, 13. Virimi Vakatawa, 12. Gaël Fickou, 11. Damian Penaud, 10. Matthieu Jalibert, 9. Antoine Dupont, 1. Cyril Baille, 2. Julien Marchand, 3. Mohamed Haouas, 4. Romain Taofifenua, 5. Paul Willemse, 6. Dylan Cretin, 7. Charles Ollivon, 8. Grégory Alldritt.
Replacements
16. Camille Chat, 17. Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18. Dorian Aldegheri, 19. Cyril Cazeaux, 20. Cameron Woki, 21. Anthony Jelonch, 22. Baptiste Serin, 23. Romain Ntamack.
2021 Six Nations results
6 February - England 6-11 Scotland
13 February - England 41-18 Italy
27 February - Wales 40-24 England
13 March - England 23-20 France
20 March - Ireland v England | 4.45pm KO
