England- France, the game pundits believed to be the game to decide the tournament managed to give 80 minutes of intense rugby from both sides that were gunning for the Grand Slam. However, it was England who came out on top in this thrilling encounter which was dominated by the fly half's.
Andrew Sheridan was the solitary change for England at loose head replacing Alex Corbisiero who filled in admirably against Italy, While France made a few changes to the team that beat Ireland noticeably Parra and Medard were missing.
First Half
Both teams started brightly as they both intended to grab an early foothold on the game however, France sloppily gave a penalty away early and were made to pay as Toby flood put the kick through the posts to give England the lead. England 3- 0 France. On the restart, England managed to make a meal of a simple catch as Nick Easter parried a catch into the hands of the oncoming French backs and from this caused an infringement which gifted France an easy kick under the posts which was converted by Yachvili to draw the game level. England 3- 3 France. Throughout the early exchanges the French backs looked strong and adventurous as they tried to create opportunities but England's resilient backline held well against French surges of attack.
Throughout this tournament, the home side have looked impressive in the line out as they continued to use it to work space and create chances and England's hard work was rewarded as Flood converted two more penalties in a five minute spell to restore England's lead. England 9- 3 France. However, although the home side were leading mistakes were still being made with a number of knock-on's and bad decision making stopping England from pulling out a bigger lead. These errors came at a price for England as Yachvili expertly kicked home two penalties as well to bring the scores once again at a dead heat. England 9- 9 France. After this, the game became a close quarter's battle as the forwards tried giving their team the best advantage possible and it was England's scrum which was looking a little shaky against their opponents but the visitors were unable to use this to their advantage.
Both team's continued to make constant error's and mistakes which slowed the game down and it looked like it France were more likely to score the first try of the match due to England's backs lacking that bit of flair and creativity which saw them beat Italy so convincingly in their last game. France started to mount pressure on the home side as Andrew Sheridan went off injured being replaced by Alex Corbisiero. Right on half time, France were given the opportunity of leading as the sides went into the break however Yachvili failed with his attempt which the visitors would later rue the missed chance. England 9- 9 France.
Second Half
With everything still to play for, the game kicked off with England flying out of the trap's as France were caught half asleep at the back as Tom Palmer's charge down caused confusion in the French ranks which lead to neat trickery from winger Mark Cueto assisting Ben Foden who barged his way over in the left corner to score what was to be the only try of the game. Flood failed with his conversion attempt. England 14- 9 France. England then broke through the French lines again with Chris Ashton swan diving over but the referee deemed a pass in the build up play between Flood and Ben Youngs to be forward. England sustained early pressure for the first ten minutes as France looked rattled and nervy on the ball and England were compensated for their efforts as they were awarded another penalty this time in line with the posts. Flood was unable to take the kick due to injury and he was replaced by Jonny Wilkinson who managed to score the penalty and increase England's lead and allow Wilkinson to regain top spot in the test scoring charts with his first kick. England 17- 9 France.
In the second half, it looked as if France had no answer for England's dominance across the field as they weren't able to create space or opportunities as they did in the first 40 minutes. But France were given a way back into the game from a penalty but they didn't capitalize on the chance and the scores stayed as they were. England 17-9 France. However, France managed to work their way into England's 22 for the first time of the game and should have scored a try of their own. Trinh- Duc, who had been kept quite throughout the second half by England neatly played a grubber kick through only for Aurelien Rougerie to fumble the ball when trying to ground it. That error from France summed up a poor second half performance by the visitors as England replaced Dylan Hartley with Steve Thompson who joined Brian Moore as the most capped hooker in England history. England maintained control of the game and they saw the game out to win England 17- 9 France in front of the Twickenham crowd as the visitors left the field outplayed by their English counterparts.
Full Time
England fully deserved their win through their hard work on the line out and the scrum. France gave a poor account in the second half as they petered out once England started to dominate the field of play.
Man of the Match: Tom Palmer, for his charge down which helped England score their try and line out exploits that disrupted the flow to the French team.
England:
Tries - Foden
Penalties - Flood (3), Wilkinson
Conversion -
France:
Tries -
Penalties: Yachvili (3)
Conversions -
Thoughts
France will rue the missed opportunities they had, with the penalty at the end of the first half and the try which should have been grounded by Rougerie which would have brought France back into the game. The French bench in my mind also lacked strength in depth as those subs that did appear failed to make an impact in the game. Overall, France started promisingly as they showed how dangerous and talented their backline can be with the ball but a below par second half performance and a dominant England forced them into mistakes. France travel to bottom of the table Italy next.
England can take heart from a hard fought win against France who many people believed to be the favourites for the tournament. Martin Johnson looks to have a good bunch available to him varying in youth and experience which seems to be working very well. A consistent performance throughout and a very strong showing in the second half added to France's demise and gave England further confidence when they play host to former England coach Andy Robinson's Scotland next time out.
Andrew Sheridan was the solitary change for England at loose head replacing Alex Corbisiero who filled in admirably against Italy, While France made two alterations to the team that beat Scotland last time out with Sebastien Chabel coming in for Julien Bonnaire at no.8 and Clement Poitrenaud replacing the injured Maxime Medard at full back.
First Half
Both teams started brightly as they both intended to grab an early foothold on the game however, France sloppily gave a penalty away early and were made to pay as Toby flood put the kick through the posts to give England the lead. England 3- 0 France. On the restart, England managed to make a meal of a simple catch as Nick Easter parried a catch into the hands of the oncoming French backs and from this caused an infringement which gifted France an easy kick under the posts which was converted by Yachvili to draw the game level. England 3- 3 France. Throughout the early exchanges the French backs looked strong and adventurous as they tried to create opportunities but England's resilient backline held well against French surges of attack.
Throughout this tournament, the home side have looked impressive in the line out as they continued to use it to work space and create chances and England's hard work was rewarded as Flood converted two more penalties in a five minute spell to restore England's lead. England 9- 3 France. However, although the home side were leading mistakes were still being made with a number of knock-on's and bad decision making stopping England from pulling out a bigger lead. These errors came at a price for England as Yachvili expertly kicked home two penalties as well to bring the scores once again at a dead heat. England 9- 9 France. After this, the game became a close quarter's battle as the forwards tried giving their team the best advantage possible and it was England's scrum which was looking a little shaky against their opponents but the visitors were unable to use this to their advantage.
Both team's continued to make constant error's and mistakes which slowed the game down and it looked like it France were more likely to score the first try of the match due to England's backs lacking that bit of flair and creativity which saw them beat Italy so convincingly in their last game. France started to mount pressure on the home side as Andrew Sheridan went off injured being replaced by Alex Corbisiero. Right on half time, France were given the opportunity of leading as the sides went into the break however Yachvili failed with his attempt which the visitors would later rue the missed chance. England 9- 9 France.
Second Half
With everything still to play for, the game kicked off with England flying out of the trap's as France were caught half asleep at the back as Tom Palmer's charge down caused confusion in the French ranks which lead to neat trickery from winger Mark Cueto assisting Ben Foden who barged his way over in the left corner to score what was to be the only try of the game. Flood failed with his conversion attempt. England 14- 9 France. England then broke through the French lines again with Chris Ashton swan diving over but the referee deemed a pass in the build up play between Flood and Ben Youngs to be forward. England sustained early pressure for the first ten minutes as France looked rattled and nervy on the ball and England were compensated for their efforts as they were awarded another penalty this time in line with the posts. Flood was unable to take the kick due to injury and he was replaced by Jonny Wilkinson who managed to score the penalty and increase England's lead and allow Wilkinson to regain top spot in the test scoring charts with his first kick. England 17- 9 France.
In the second half, it looked as if France had no answer for England's dominance across the field as they weren't able to create space or opportunities as they did in the first 40 minutes. But France were given a way back into the game from a penalty but they didn't capitalize on the chance and the scores stayed as they were. England 17-9 France. However, France managed to work their way into England's 22 for the first time of the game and should have scored a try of their own. Trinh- Duc, who had been kept quite throughout the second half by England neatly played a grubber kick through only for Aurelien Rougerie to fumble the ball when trying to ground it. That error from France summed up a poor second half performance by the visitors as England replaced Dylan Hartley with Steve Thompson who joined Brian Moore as the most capped hooker in England history. England maintained control of the game and they saw the game out to win England 17- 9 France in front of the Twickenham crowd as the visitors left the field outplayed by their English counterparts.
Full Time
England fully deserved their win through their hard work on the line out and the scrum. France gave a poor account in the second half as they petered out once England started to dominate the field of play.
Man of the Match: Tom Palmer, for his charge down which helped England score their try and line out exploits that disrupted the flow to the French team.
England:
Tries - Foden
Penalties - Flood (3), Wilkinson
Conversion -
France:
Tries -
Penalties: Yachvili (3)
Conversions -
Thoughts
France will rue the missed opportunities they had, with the penalty at the end of the first half and the try which should have been grounded by Rougerie which would have brought France back into the game. The French bench in my mind also lacked strength in depth as those subs that did appear failed to make an impact in the game. Overall, France started promisingly as they showed how dangerous and talented their backline can be with the ball but a below par second half performance and a dominant England forced them into mistakes. France travel to bottom of the table Italy next.
England can take heart from a hard fought win against France who many people believed to be the favourites for the tournament. Martin Johnson looks to have a good bunch available to him varying in youth and experience which seems to be working very well. A consistent performance throughout and a very strong showing in the second half added to France's demise and gave England further confidence when they play host to former England coach Andy Robinson's Scotland next time out.
