France 20 England 15
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| Jonny Wilkinson, the hero of Twickenham against Ireland, finds himself smothered by the French defence at the Stade de France (© Reuters) |
An inspired France destroyed England’s Grand Slam ambitions at the Stade de France this afternoon and now look favourites for a clean sweep of their own.
Three of the four tries in an enthralling encounter came in the first-half with Gerald Merceron and Imanol Harinordoquy touching down for the French and Jason Robinson for England.
Ben Cohen scored a consolation try in the last minute of added time at the end of the match But it was not enough to stop France going top of the championship after three wins from as many games. England have won two games and lost one.
In addition to his try Merceron kicked two penalties and two conversions for a personal tally of 15 points. His opposite number Jonny Wilkinson converted Robinson's try and notched over a penalty just after halftime.
But the English, who brought on rugby league convert Henry Paul for his first cap just before halftime, were unable to break down a well-organised French defence which showed a great deal of discipline.
France, looking for their first defeat of England since they beat them in Paris in 1998, started disappointingly when Merceron missed a straightforward kick in the second minute.
But the flyhalf bounced back with a try in the eighth minute after a well-worked move.
Harinordoquy took the ball at pace from scrumhalf Fabien Galthie on the England 22-metre line and made vital ground before passing to Merceron to dive underneath the posts. The flyhalf converted the try.
England struggled to survive the early pressure. In the 18th minute, Harinordoquy touched down at the left-hand corner after centre Tony Marsh timed his pass superbly just before a tackle from England winger Austin Healey.
The French had moved the ball wide after a powerful run down the right touchline from lock Olivier Brouzet. Merceron slotted over his second conversion and then put over a penalty to stretch the lead to 17-0.
England brought on former New Zealand rugby league international Paul just before the break. After an intense period of pressure, Robinson produced a brilliant side-step to dance through the French defence and score in the dying seconds of the half.
Wilkinson converted to narrow the gap to 10 points at halftime and then cut the French lead to 17-10 with a penalty early in the second half.
But the French kept up the pressure. Merceron slotted over another penalty halfway through the second half to give France a 20-10 lead. In the 72nd minute the flyhalf hit the post with another penalty effort.
England managed a second try in the dying seconds when Cohen took a high kick from Healey to score in the corner. But it was too late to change the outcome.
Elsewhere, Wales overcame the challenge of Italy in Cardiff, running out 44-20 winners.