England beat France but fall short

 

It was a breathless match that saw 12 tries scored, but in the end it was not enough for the hosts as they finished the Six Nations in second place yet again.

 

England signalled their intent from the start as scrumhalf Ben Youngs rounded off an impressive counter-attack which was sparked when outside centre Jonathan Joseph snapped up a loose ball.

 

France got on the scoreboard when flyhalf Jules Plisson slotted a penalty, and they hit the lead shortly afterwards when scrumhalf Sebastian Tillous-Borde pounced on a loose ball to race away for a try.

 

They extended their lead when left wing Noa Nakaitaci skipped round for their second try, which also came from a turnover in their own half and was confirmed by the TMO after some concern over the grounding.

 

France were playing with real freedom and had England under serious pressure, but the hosts managed to hit back with a penalty from George Ford, and they were back in front when Anthony Watson was put over in the corner after a great run from Youngs.

 

The scrumhalf was in the action again as he stepped through the French defence to score under the poles and round off another swift counter-attack which started in their own half.

 

Ford added another penalty to put England 27-15 up at the half-time break, still needing to extend their lead by a further 14 points in the second half to take the Six Nations title.

 

Those hopes were struck a blow when France were first to score after the break, with Maxime Mermoz getting over to the visitors to put them back within reach.

 

However, England hit back straight away as another break from Youngs created the space for Ford to canter over for their fourth try.

 

France hit back with a penalty from Rory Kockott, but England stormed back into opposition territory and worked it wide to Jack Nowell who got over in the corner to take their advantage out to 41-25.

 

However, the hosts were reduced to 14 men when flank James Haskell was shown a yellow card for tripping a French player, and France took advantage as another great run from Nakaitaci set up loosehead prop Vincent Debaty to score in the corner.

 

England hit back with big Billy Vunipola forcing his way over from close range, but France responded as replacement hooker Benjamin Kayser scored from a driving maul.

 

They were not done there however, as Nowell crossed for one final try to bring up the half-century, but in the end it was not enough as Ireland took the Six Nations by the slimmest of margins.

 

Man of the match: England scrumhalf Ben Youngs had the game of his life, scoring twice and setting up two others for his team.

 

Moment of the match: There were many to choose from with 11 tries on the night, but the quick tap by France on their own tryline with time up on the clock and England seven points away from the title cannot be topped.

 

Villain of the match: James Haskell for his blatant trip that rightly saw him sent from the field.

 

 

Tries: Youngs 2, Watson, Ford, Nowell 2, Vunipola

Cons: Ford 6

Pens: Ford 2

 

Tries: Tillous-Borde, Nakaitaci, Mermoz, Debaty, Kayser

Cons: Plisson 2

Pens: Plisson, Kockott

 

Yellow card: James Haskell (England 56 – Foul play, tripping a player)

 

 

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 James Haskell, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Geoff Parling, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Nick Easter, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

 

France: 15 Scott Spedding,  14 Yoann Huget, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Sebastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Vincent Debaty.

Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.

 

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Assistant referees: Johnny Lacey (Ireland), Leighton Hodges (Wales)

TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)