Ashton remains realistic

England coach Brian Ashton claimed yesterday's 26-18 win over France was a "one-off" and admitted his side need to play with greater consistency if they are to be competitive at the World Cup. Ashton said England were in the "second division" of world rugby in the wake of their 43-13 hammering by Ireland but they responded in style against France at Twickenham to open up the championship.

They are level on points with France and Ireland going into the final round of matches on Saturday but Ashton was not getting carried away with their first win over the French since the 2003 World Cup.

"I'm obviously delighted with the win and I'm pretty pleased with the performance, although there are areas we need to work on," he said. "I'm being really honest. This is a one-off game and we've got to back up performances like this. We've got to be consistent.

"While it's great to get a win under our belts, we know we have a lot of work to do.

"We saw glimpses of the sort of rugby we could play today but you've got to be consistent to be at the top of the world game. I'll be looking for another good performance next Saturday and further on down the line leading to the World Cup."

Toby Flood scored 16 points on his first Twickenham start with four goals and the game's first try seven minutes into the second half. The 21-year-old outhalf scored his first try for England despite sustaining a "dead leg" before half-time and came off after an hour to give Shane Geraghty the chance to steal the limelight.

The London Irish outhalf kicked a crucial penalty to restore England's lead and came up with the break that set up Mike Tindall for the match-winning try eight minutes from the end. "I'm delighted he had the confidence to back himself," said Ashton. "It's good to see young players with that sort of courage on the field."

Ashton also had particular praise for the England forwards, who he said were determined to respond to the criticism they received after their mauling by the Irish. "They were pretty fired up," he said. "There was a lot of talk about the pack being under-powered and I thought, certainly in the second half, they could take the French on. By and large they worked twice as hard as they did in Dublin."

France coach Bernard Laporte was disappointed with his side's attack. "Defensively we were okay but we under-performed with the ball in hand."

Sale number eight forward Sebastien Chabal admitted the French were concerned about a backlash following the decision of Ashton to ring the changes. "When you change 10 players in your team, the coach wanted a wake-up call and that's what happened," he said. "We are really disappointed. Before the game we were quite confident about our rugby but today we didn't play at all."

England captain Mike Catt paid tribute to Flood and Geraghty. He said: "It was a great to play in a team with so much enthusiasm. We have got the young guys coming through. It is great to see the buzz about them - David Strettle as well - and they are so confident with their ability."

For Catt, making his first Six Nations start since England crushed France at Twickenham in the 2001 tournament, the game represented a personal triumph.

"To play on the front foot makes a world of difference," he added, in tribute to a superb performance from England's pack. "It is a very good day for English rugby . . . As captain, I found the whole week very emotional. It was mentally draining, and I can understand how someone like Martin Corry (former England captain) has felt in the past. The guys responded exceptionally well. I wanted us to play the game the way we had trained, and we got the ball on the front foot, which is a great compliment to the forwards."