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England strike back to beat France in breathless Six Nations thriller
By PA at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
England revived their Guinness Six Nations title hopes as Elliot Daly’s converted final-minute try snatched a 26-25 victory against France and sparked wild celebrations at Allianz Stadium.
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Finally England showed the composure and skill needed to close out a winning position after a year of near-misses, with Daly’s score ending a run of seven successive defeats against top-tier opposition.
A roller coaster second half reached a thrilling climax that saw the rivals exchange tries in the final 10 minutes, with favourites France appearing to have clinched victory with the second of Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s two touch downs in the 75th minute.
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But England refused to give up and with full debutant Fin Smith pulling the strings like a seasoned campaigner at fly-half, they had the tools to get over the line.
Swaggering France could have scored three tries in the first half yet entered the interval with a 7-7 stalemate, their attack oscillating between frantic and complacent, although the soggy conditions did not help.
Antoine Dupont was nothing like the creative force who took centre stage against Wales in round one, with England for the most part suffocating the scrum-half.
Instead, the star of the show was Fin Smith, who had ousted Marcus Smith from the number 10 jersey and produced a performance that should cement him in the position for the rest of the tournament.
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Fin Smith’s first match contribution was to see a kick charged down and the early danger was coming from France, who were close to escaping the home defence with clever kicks and crisp passing.
England lifted their spirits by winning a scrum penalty but Henry Slade failed to find touch and it took a robust hit from Tom Curry on Alexandre Roumat to halt another promising French attack.
Thomas Ramos missed a routine penalty attempt but the pressure on home territory continued to build, with France’s long kicking game pinning their opponents back.
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England attacked and were then hit on the counter but play was generally scrappy and one-sided, with the hosts having made well over twice as many tackles by the half-hour mark on 64.
Finally that workload took its toll, with Dupont and Damian Penaud combining beautifully in broken play after feeding off a loose pass by Will Stuart to send Bielle-Biarrey racing over.
The score prodded England into action and they hit back straight away through Ollie Lawrence, who fended off Ramos and strolled over after waves of attacks had crashed against the visiting defence.
At last Borthwick’s side were showing their teeth and when the second half got under way they engaged in some end-to-end play that began by Marcus Smith spilling in the tackle before Bielle-Biarrey butchered a great chance.
Ramos rifled over a penalty but England rejected a shot at goal which proved a costly decision when they failed to make inroads at the ensuing line-out.
Over went another Ramos penalty but England drew upon their Northampton connection to take the lead for the first time, Fin Smith hoisting a kick to the right where Tommy Freeman out-jumped Bielle-Biarrey to score.
Stung by the try, France pounced immediately through Penaud in their most clinical passage of play yet.
Marcus Smith missed an important penalty but England, playing with renewed purpose, regrouped with an impressive series of drives finished by Fin Baxter. Fin Smith converted and England were back in front.
Bielle-Biarrey struck again but there was still time for England to finish the job, with Fin Smith sending replacement Daly racing over before converting to win the game.
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If you exclude all the games started by Marcus Smith at 10, England have been a really elite side under Borthwick!