England claimed a remarkable 26-25 win against France in an extraordinary encounter in London.<\/p>\n
The first half was a scrappy affair, punctuated by moments of brilliance.<\/p>\n
France fullback Thomas Ramos, possibly the greatest kicker from the tee in the game, surprised the entire Allianz Stadium when he missed a kick at goal ten minutes in. England would have been delighted if was a sign of things to come for the Toulouse player.<\/p>\n
Les Bleus had only conceded three penalties in the entire match against Wales in round one, but England were proving to be tougher opposition at the Allianz Stadium, frustrating the visitors in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
On 20 minutes, France broke out of their 22 and ran almost the entire length of the field. It could have been a classic Gallic try but for \u2013 of all people \u2013 Antoine Dupont failing to get hold of the would-be try-scoring pass from Ramos. Then, after stealing England\u2019s lineout ball a minute later, France\u2019s second-deadliest operator, Damian Penaud, fumbled the ball with the home line beckoning.<\/p>\n
England needed to capitalise on these two strokes of good fortune. Instead, the game was entering its 30th minute.<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s Guinness Player of the Match, Gr\u00e9gory Alldritt, snaffled a loose England ball over inside the home half. Dupont embarked on an arcing run, shipped the ball inside to Penaud who, confronted by fullback Marcus Smith, grubber-kicked beyond the English defence for fellow wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey to scored.<\/p>\n
Ramos\u2019 touchline conversion added the icing on the cake of an enchanting team try: 0-7.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s own try before half time was somewhat more prosaic \u2013 in the build-up at least \u2013 but camped on the French line, the hosts overcame a dropped ball (backwards) to feed it to centre Ollie Lawrence, who fended off a flailing Ramos with ease to run it in from short distance. Marcus Smith converted for a 7-7 score at the interval.<\/p>\n
The second half started at a blistering pace, and while the speed of it resulted in a number of handling errors and missed tries, it undoubtedly made for entertaining viewing. Both teams were here to play, and the fans in this corner of south-west London made their appreciation felt.<\/p>\n
Ramos didn\u2019t miss when presented with a penalty opportunity ten minutes in, following an England offside just outside their 22. The fullback didn\u2019t have to wait long to add another as England were then penalised at a scrum: 7-13.<\/p>\n
England weren\u2019t cowed, and their confidence paid off when fly-half Fin Smith went against the grain and hoisted a kick into the French 22 that was claimed by his Northampton teammate Tommy Freeman. England recycled the ball quickly and soon Freeman was galloping across the whitewash for the try. Marcus Smith was off-target for what should have been an easy conversion: 12-13.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s response was instant, working their way upfield with alacrity, then a wing double-act as Bielle-Biarrey came across to the right to put Penaud away for his 37th Test try. Ramos couldn\u2019t convert: 12-18.<\/p>\n
Continuing the chaotic theme of the day, England were straight back into the French 22, only for Marcus Smith to knock the ball high and forwards in what looked to be a sure-fire try with France under the pump.<\/p>\n
Almost 70 minutes had been played when England were presented with a penalty opportunity very close to the French 22m line, and opted to kick at goal. Marcus Smith made a nightmare-inducing hash of it, however, to ease French nerves a little.<\/p>\n
When they won another penalty shortly thereafter, Fin Smith tellingly kicked to the corner. They were rewarded for that option when, from the lineout, prop Fin Baxter scored from a pick-and-go. Fin Smith was now on kicking duties and made no mistake when looking to add the extras.Now it was 19-18, with England ahead for the first time in the match.It lasted all of five minutes.<\/p>\n
More frenzied play saw France razzle-dazzle their way from 22 to 22, before Bielle-Biarrey found himself with oodles of space down the left to score his second try. Ramos converted: 19-25 with just minutes left in the match.<\/p>\n
If there was a roof on the Allianz Stadium, it would have been raised to high heaven when replacement Elliot Daly took a Fin Smith pass on the French 5m line and went over for a game-changing try.<\/p>\n
Fin Smith converted in front of the posts to take England one point clear and secure a memorable victory for Steve Borthwick\u2019s men.<\/p>\n
England 26<\/strong> France 25<\/strong> England claimed a remarkable 26-25 win against France in an extraordinary encounter in London. The first half was a scrappy affair, punctuated by moments of brilliance. France fullback Thomas Ramos, possibly the greatest kicker from the tee in the game, surprised the entire Allianz Stadium when he missed a kick at goal ten minutes in….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4824,4825,4932,4823],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-england","category-france","category-latest-news","category-six-nations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/h_00151817.webp?fit=1440%2C862&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9yf19-aME","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41443,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/six-nations\/2025\/02\/match-preview-le-crunch-england-v-france\/","url_meta":{"origin":41456,"position":0},"title":"MATCH PREVIEW \u2018Le Crunch\u2019 : England v France","author":"rr_admin","date":"February 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This fixture, dubbed \u2018Le Crunch\u2019, promises to be an epic encounter for both teams. As the 2025 Guinness Men\u2019s Six Nations enters its second round, England are set to host France on Saturday 8th February at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. Head-to-head England and France share a colourful (and brutal) rivalry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "England"","block_context":{"text":"England","link":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/category\/england\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JGF47954.webp?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JGF47954.webp?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JGF47954.webp?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JGF47954.webp?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JGF47954.webp?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35551,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/international-rugby\/2018\/06\/full-test-time-table-23-06-18\/","url_meta":{"origin":41456,"position":1},"title":"FULL TEST Time-Table {23-06-18}","author":"rr_admin","date":"June 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Follow @RedefinedRugby The Full List of TEST Matches this weekend as follows: SAT JUN 23 2018 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup, Match 3 NAMIBIA vs TUNISIA Local time kick off 00:00 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup, Match 4 MOROCCO vs KENYA Local time kick off 00:00 2018 Men's Internationals JAPAN\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Rugby"","block_context":{"text":"International Rugby","link":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/category\/international-rugby\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/xfb18bhy.jpg?fit=850%2C343&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/xfb18bhy.jpg?fit=850%2C343&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/xfb18bhy.jpg?fit=850%2C343&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/xfb18bhy.jpg?fit=850%2C343&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41463,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/six-nations\/2025\/02\/match-preview-england-v-scotland\/","url_meta":{"origin":41456,"position":2},"title":"MATCH PREVIEW: England v Scotland","author":"rr_admin","date":"February 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"MATCH PREVIEW: England v Scotland The historic Calcutta Cup is up for grabs this weekend, with Scotland hoping to make it five in a row over old rivals England. Head-to-head Overall England and Scotland have played each other on 142 occasions with England winning 76 of these matches (L 47,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/category\/latest-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BRTB3088.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BRTB3088.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BRTB3088.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BRTB3088.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BRTB3088.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41297,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/latest-news\/2024\/11\/match-preview-england-v-south-africa\/","url_meta":{"origin":41456,"position":3},"title":"MATCH PREVIEW: England v South Africa","author":"rr_admin","date":"November 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"England\u2019s Autumn Nations Series gets even tougher as they welcome reigning world champions South Africa to the Allianz Stadium. Saturday 16th November will be the first time these two sides have met since South Africa ended England\u2019s 2023 Rugby World Cup dreams with a 15-16 victory. England will be hoping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/category\/latest-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/h_00023732.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/h_00023732.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/h_00023732.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/h_00023732.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/h_00023732.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32994,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/six-nations\/2018\/02\/2018-six-nations-preview-france\/","url_meta":{"origin":41456,"position":4},"title":"2018 Six Nations Preview: France","author":"RugbyRedefined","date":"February 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Follow @RedefinedRugby In our final preview ahead of the Six Nations we examine the prospects of last year\u2019s third placed finishers, Jacques Brunel\u2019s France. It is all change for\u00a0Les Bleus\u00a0with former Italy and Bordeaux-B\u00e8gles boss Brunel replacing Guy Nov\u00e8s as head coach of the national team, but can he alter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "France"","block_context":{"text":"France","link":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/category\/france\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/x767__origin__0x0_Jacques_Brunel_and_Guilhem_Guirado.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/x767__origin__0x0_Jacques_Brunel_and_Guilhem_Guirado.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/x767__origin__0x0_Jacques_Brunel_and_Guilhem_Guirado.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/x767__origin__0x0_Jacques_Brunel_and_Guilhem_Guirado.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36152,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/international-rugby\/2019\/02\/preview-england-v-france-10-02-19\/","url_meta":{"origin":41456,"position":5},"title":"Preview: England v France {10\/02\/19}","author":"rr_admin","date":"February 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Following their impressive Six Nations victory over Ireland, England will look to build on that performance when they face France at Twickenham on Sunday. 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The next\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "England"","block_context":{"text":"England","link":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/category\/england\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6nations2019d.jpg?fit=1184%2C602&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6nations2019d.jpg?fit=1184%2C602&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6nations2019d.jpg?fit=1184%2C602&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6nations2019d.jpg?fit=1184%2C602&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6nations2019d.jpg?fit=1184%2C602&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41458,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41456\/revisions\/41458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyredefined.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTries<\/strong>: Ollie Lawrence (35<\/strong>‘) Tommy Freeman (57<\/strong>‘) Fin Baxter (69<\/strong>‘) Elliot Daly (78<\/strong>‘)
\nConversions<\/strong>: Marcus Smith (35<\/strong>‘) Fin Smith (70<\/strong>‘)(79<\/strong>‘)<\/p>\n
\nTries<\/strong>: Louis Bielle Biarrey (29<\/strong>‘)(74<\/strong>‘) Damian Penaud (60<\/strong>‘)
\nConversions<\/strong>: Thomas Ramos (30<\/strong>‘)(75<\/strong>‘)
\nPenalties<\/strong>: Thomas Ramos (49<\/strong>‘)(55<\/strong>‘)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"