England 17 - 9 France - Match Review

As classics go, this really was one for the pure rugby fan.

6 Nations games don’t come much tougher that this as England and France, the oldest of foes, went at it hammer and tongue for 80 plus minutes in a contest that typified a lot of what this tournament is a about.

Pre-match the talk was could England continue their metamorphosis from stoic defenders of the set piece to the complete package of mixed game-plan rugby and which French side would turn up.

In the end, what we got amounted to a fair tussle between the 2 best sides in the championship and further evidence that whilst this world cup may be a bridge too far for either of these sides, this is an England side which is on the upward cycle.

For 40 minutes France really pressurised England and did not allow the 9/10 axis to perform and the side were not helped by the loss of Andrew Sheridan shortly after the 20 minute mark. The collisions were getting heavier and heavier and despite George Clancy’s interesting interpretation of the scrum and the breakdown, no quarter was given by either side.

Initially England were guilty of trying to play too much rugby in territory and with possession that did not suit. Passes were forced patterns of play unclear and the French defence, much maligned after recent performances, held resolutely, forcing England to play at a pace that they were not comfortable with.

Toby Flood missed his first kick in 15 and Ben Youngs was untypically indecisive and error prone, not something that should be too much of a surprise given that this was probably the most pressurised game he had ever played.

 I remember watching a young Matt Dawson play in one of his early Five Nations games and not having the best of times. A very well known rugby writer I was sat next to said that felt he was a decent club player, but was not quite good enough for international rugby. I guess time will tell.

Both sides had decent periods of pressure but the 9-9 half time score was a fair reflection and the question was which side would be able to come out with something that would be the key to unlocking the oppositions defence, and it was England that came out of the blocks at a startling pace.

The excellent Tom Palmer made life very difficult for Trinh-Duc and his clearance was charged down   causing the French defence to spin out of control as England span the ball wide and despite a mini-juggle by Cueto, the ball popped into the thankful hands of Ben Foden who used his power and pace to force his way over the line, with Flood missing the tough conversion, England took a 5 point lead.

With England beginning to move the ball with much more confidence, it looked like the hosts had blown France out of the water when some excellent counter rucking by Dylan Hartley led to a turnover and some good work by Youngs and flood put Ashton through for a clear run to the line, only to be pulled back for a marginal forward pass, a decision that could have gone either way.
England did get on the scoresheet a couple of minutes later when a transgression by the French gave Jonny Wilkinson, on for the injured Toby Flood, the chance to go past Dan Carter’s current points total and give England a two-score cushion.

That seemed to knock the stuffing out of France, although a cruel bounce of the ball from a lovely chip through by Trinh-Duc denied Rougerie a try, it would have been against the run of play.

England were pretty much on top now with Wilkinson picking up where Flood left off and was it not for a lack of composure by Chris Ashton, England could have score again, but his forced pass to Cueto was not of the highest calibre and the opportunity went begging.

France continued to compete gamely but England’s ability to break the French line was giving them more headaches and a ‘score’ from England captain Mike Tindall, was disallowed when Mr Clancy ruled that he had not released the ball in the tackle. Shame, as the captain had more than played his part in this engrossing encounter.

So at the final whistle, with a job comprehensively done in the second half, how will England feel?

I imagine Martin Johnson and his team will be happy to see England continue their learning curve and maintain momentum, but as a rugby man he must be somewhat perplexed and frustrated by a lack of alternatives in the England midfield.