England clinched the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup as Owen Farrell kicked the winning points in sudden death to beat France’s brave young side 22-19 at Twickenham.
Les Bleus’ side contained no members of the starting XV which beat England in the Guinness Six Nations in February due to an agreement between the national set-up and Top 14 clubs.
But that did not stop the visitors from matching up to England physically and a try from Brice Dulin plus eight points from Matthieu Jalibert put France 13-6 ahead at the interval.
Further penalties from Louis Carbonel appeared to put the game beyond the hosts but two Farrell penalties and a try from Luke Cowan-Dickie at the death sent the game to sudden death.
Farrell had struggled from the tee throughout and missed a chance to secure England victory at the start of sudden death before landing the winning penalty 15 minutes into extra time.
FRANCE MATCH RED ROSE PHYSICALITY
Les Bleus issued an early warning to England in the opening couple of minutes, with strong counter-rucking from their inexperienced pack turning the ball over for the visitors.
The response from the hosts was immediate, though, with Billy Vunipola leaving a crunching tackle on Alivereti Raka before England were awarded a penalty after France collapsed the scrum.
Farrell opened the scoring from the tee but the skipper was unable to double England’s lead when his side were awarded another penalty for an infringement from Cameron Woki.
That miss proved crucial as France stunned England on 15 minutes with the game’s first try, with Jalibert jinking through the white shirts before putting Dulin in for a fine score.
Jalibert followed up his assist by slotting the conversion as Les Bleus extended their advantage, although it was not long before England pegged the visitors back with an Elliot Daly penalty.
But nothing could discourage Fabien Galthie’s young team, who continued to show they were up for the fight as Woki stole the ball Maro Itoje at the lineout as the half hour approached.
France’s pressure eventually told on 28 minutes when Sam Underhill was penalised for kicking the ball out of scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud’s hands and Jalibert added three points from the tee.
Another error from Underhill on 36 minutes proved costly again as the flanker was pulled up for coming in at the side, allowing the 22-year-old French fly-half to extend France’s lead.
England looked to cut the deficit before the break and before long they found themselves just two metres from the France tryline, repeatedly battering the blue wall time and again.
Ellis Genge, Itoje, Kyle Sinckler and Joe Launchbury all attempted to crash over but they were all denied and the ball was eventually lost forward after more than a dozen phases.
COWAN-DICKIE SAVES ENGLAND AT DEATH
It was only the third time in the last two years England had trailed at the interval and Eddie Jones’ men did not take long after the restart to began eating into France’s advantage.
First Anthony Watson, starting for the first time in the Autumn Nations Cup, came close to catching Farrell’s crossfield kick on 44 minutes but the winger could only knock on under pressure.
England’s possession was rewarded just four minutes later, however, with Farrell knocking over his third penalty of the game after the visitors were pinged for a no-arms tackle from Killian Geraci.
Watson and Daly then threatened to make the most of space down the right wing, only for Dulin to stop the move in its tracks as England were forced to settle for another kick at goal.
But Farrell was unable to find the target this time and his afternoon got no better on 59 minutes as the Red Rose captain missed his third effort at goal following a high tackle from Guillaume Ducat.
Despite England’s ability to make the most of their possession and territory, French mistakes allowed the hosts to remain camped in Les Bleus’ half as the final quarter approached.
Jones looked to shake up his side as Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart were introduced but France’s defence remained steadfast, disrupting England’s momentum at the breakdown.
And France replacement Carbonel added to England’s woes as the clock ticked to 70 minutes, nailing a penalty from wide on the left to extend the visitors’ lead to seven.
England provided a quick riposte through Farrell’s boot but almost as soon as the gap was reduced to four, France replied with another three points as Carbonel held his nerve again.
But just as England’s hopes of silverware appeared to be slipping away, a penalty provided the hosts with one last chance to kick to the corner and launch their final attack.
They secured the subsequent lineout and launched a driving maul, from which Cowan-Dickie was able to twist over the whitewash before Farrell levelled the score from the tee.
Farrell had a chance to win it for England at the start of sudden death and while his penalty hit the post, he made no mistake when he was gifted another chance with five minutes left to play.
KEY MOMENT
It has to be the final play before the end of regular time.
England appeared down and out before being awarded a penalty with a minute left to go, George Ford kicked well to the corner and the hosts secured the ball from the lineout.
From there the rolling maul got moving and Luke Cowan-Dickie was on hand – as he has been so many times for Exeter Chiefs – to twirl off the back of it and ground the ball.
Then it was left to Owen Farrell to right the wrongs from an underwhelming performance from the kicking tee, holding his nerve to slot the penalty that took the game into sudden death.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Brice Dulin would have been more than worthy of taking this award after scoring the game’s only try and being a reliable presence at the back for France from start to finish.
But Billy Vunipola was ultimately took the prize for a combative performance at No.8, fronting up against a Les Bleus team which gave as good as they got over 95 absorbing minutes.
Vunipola made a remarkable 15 carries for 63 metres while he was also a dominant force in the England defence, crunching into 17 tackles – more than any other Red Rose player.
