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By Maro Itoje try four minutes from the time saw England pinch France hopes of a Grand Slam with a 23-20 Six Nations victory at Twickenham on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED | England vs France
France led 20-16, but Itoje’s second row score, awarded by the television match official (TMO) and later converted by patron Owen Farrell, extended their 16-year wait for a win over England at Twickenham.
The victory saw reigning champions England rebound from their 40-24 loss to Wales last time.
It took France just two minutes to score the first try of the match via star scrum half Antoine Dupont.
England, however, struck back via Anthony Watson’s try before two penalties from captain Owen Farrell left them with a 13-7 lead.
France responded with a Matthieu Jalibert penalty before the upper half converted Damian Penaud’s try to give Les Bleus a 17-13 lead at half-time.
Jalibert and Farrell exchanged penalties early in the second half before Itoje made his way at the end.
Referee Andrew Brace initially decided that Itoje had been held by Teddy Thomas and Cameron Woki, but he consulted TMO Joy Neville to make sure and she ruled that the block had put the ball on the ground.
It was a sweet moment for Itoje after having given away several penalties against Wales.
“I wish there were 82,000 fans here,” England coach Eddie Jones told ITV of a game played behind closed doors.
“We thought France would go bad early. They haven’t played a game in a while and they were fresh. We had to be with them at halftime, that was our big job.”
“We thought we would get them in the second half and we did.”
‘Lost control’
France coach Fabien Galthie regretted his team’s performance after the break when England’s squad prevailed.
“We lost control of the match in the second half, especially at the end, where they put pressure on us on the set pieces,” he told France 2.
France, who had already beaten Italy and Ireland, started on an extended break after their third-round match against Scotland was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Les Bleus team.
A second-tier France had pushed England to the finish before losing the Fall Nations Cup final at Twickenham in December in sudden death overtime.
But that still left France seeking their first win over England since 2005 when Dimitri Yachvili scored all of his points in an 18-17 win.
Reigning champions England had already seen their hopes of a successful title defense end with losses to Scotland and Wales on either side of a victory over timeless fighter Italy.
England coach Eddie Jones benched senior players Elliot Daly and Jamie George, with full-back Max Malins making their full debut, and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie in their places.
But it wasn’t long before Malins was stranded.
France regained possession after an England box kick and an eight-phase play saw powerful center Virimi Vakatawa escape.
In turn, he found wing Teddy Thomas, who topped Malins and Dupont’s head, underscoring his reputation as a brilliant support player, beat England’s coverage until touchdown.
Jalibert added a tricky conversion and France led 7-0.
England tied in the 10th minute when a break from center Henry Slade created an overlap that allowed Watson to score his 50th game for England with a 22nd Red Rose try.
Farrell converted and his two subsequent penalties, on either side of a dynamic Watson break that was a sign of the team’s increased willingness to attack from deep, saw England punt at 13-7.
Jalibert hit a chip from the front on his own leg but, with Brace having played an advantage, he took a simple penalty in the 29th minute.
And three minutes later France was back in front.
From a lineout, center Gael Fickou sold a good kill before an excellent miss by Jalibert found wing Penaud in space for a try.
Jalibert and Farrell hit penalties to put France 20-16 ahead in the fourth quarter before Itoje did enough to pierce the French defense.
Scorers:
England
Attempts: Anthony Watson, Maro Itoje
Conversions: Owen Farrell (2)
Penalties: Farrell (3)
France
Attempts: Antoine Dupont, Damian Penaud
Conversions: Mathieu Jalibert (2)
Penalties: Jalibert (2)
Equipment:
England
15 Max Malins, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Maro Itoje , 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Mako Vunipola
Substitutes: 16 Jamie George, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ollie Lawrence, 23 Elliot Daly
France
15 Brice Dulin, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Teddy Thomas, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (captain), 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Romain Taofifenua , 3 Mohamed Haouas, 2 Julian Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Substitutes: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Cyril Cazeau, 20 Cameron Woki, 21 Anthony Jelonch, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Romain Ntamack
