by France
Léo Barré Electric. He produced a brilliant dummy and turned a pass inside for Le Garrec’s opening try and was on hand to finish one of his own. 8
Damian Penaud Impressively unpredictable – sometimes he doesn’t even seem to know which way to go – but of course he was just in the right place to catch Ramos’ flight. 9
Gaël Fickou Decided to enjoy himself with an early pass through the legs. Lawrence let in far too easily but scored a key opportunistic try. 7
Nicolas Depoortère The handling he described left him with a knock as France tried to build an attack and was not great defensively. Not his best performance so far. 6
Louis Bielle-Biarrey Smith almost hit the ball in the long leg race but didn’t get many opportunities to show his footwork after that. 6
Tomás Ramos Goal kicking was on the money – the ice was running through his veins as he lined up the final kick – but his defense left something to be desired. Show football skills for Fickou’s effort. 8
Nolann Le Garrec There were no 30 meter goals this week but it was buzzing around. There were a few hits when things were slowing down on the rack – but not as loudly as Mitchell. 8
Cyril Baille Smith turned over and played an important part in France’s dominant lead. Honors even – or maybe just in England’s favor – at scrum time though. 7
Julien Marchand He was not able to influence events with ball in hand as he does so often and his line throwing was not perfect either. 6
Uini Atonio He shows such hands for someone his size but also makes his presence felt with his big hits and heavy carry. 8
Flament Thibaud An unprecedented amount of work from the one-time Wasps forwards and whenever the French pack came forward, it was never far from the action. 6
Emmanuel Meafou A colossus. He put the Earl aside, then Itoje got the same treatment a few minutes later, and he also had a big change but couldn’t keep up the pace. 8
Francois Cros Pinned the line out that prompted the move for a try by Le Garrec and thundered around the field all night. 8
Charles Ollivon The heart of England’s defense struggled in the first half and they came out on top when France found themselves eight points behind. 7
Gregory Alldritt (captain) Lots of hard yards including one carry that punched a hole in the England defence. A true captain’s innings against the English resistance. 8
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka (for March 48) 7; Sébastien Taofifénua (for Baille 48) 6; Georges-Henri Colombe (for Atonio 60) 7; Romain Taofifnua (for Meafou 48) 7; Alexandre Roumat (for Ollivon 60) 7; Paul Boudehent (for Alldritt 70) n/a; Maxime Lucu (for Le Garrec 67) 6; Yoram Moefana (for Depoortère 60) 7
England
George Furbank Lasted less than eight minutes before picking up a calf injury which led to Smith’s much earlier than expected introduction. n/a
Tommy Freeman Some excellent breaks but he threw a weak pass over Mitchell’s head to waste a chance. Showed a finishing instinct when it mattered. 7
Henry Slade Lawrence set up the first try and sent a fine pass to Freeman as part of his center partner. He improved as the competition progressed. 7
Ollie Lawrence A big collision with Penaud and then he made a key tackle on the winger soon after. Ran a fine line to give England a big boost just before half-time and they punted again just after. 8
Elliot Daly That’s not all that effective when chasing kicks and slips at the crucial point of Fickou’s effort. Tidy up the back a good few times. 6
George Ford Provided the cool head England needed amid pressure in the first half. Great tips for Freeman’s effort and no questioning his kicking this week. 8
Alex Mitchell Early treatment affected the left arm. He turned the ball over once, threw a pass at Slade’s feet and didn’t look comfortable. Solideried on who. 6
Ellis Genge A mixed bag. He scored one goal at scrum time. Beautiful soft hands showed to release Earl. 7
Jamie George He is highly praised for the way England stayed in the fight and for the chase back then. Leadership was lost when he left. He also performed well throughout the tournament.. 7
Dan Cole One of them carries that he had no meter whatsoever but he is in the cage to hold up his part of the scrum and he did so effectively. 6
Maro Itoje Trademark destroying presence soon. Had his work cut out against the second tier so powerful. 6
George Martin Alldritt slipped out in the first half and wasn’t as prominent as last week, but he made a few big hits. He also made a nuisance of himself. 6
Ollie Chessum A big hit for Le Garrec – one of 11 tackles in the first half – as he picks up where he left off last week. Still getting treatment but lasted the better part of an hour. 8
Sam Underhill He shared a huge workload with his fellow back-rowers and also made one punt line break. The tank emptied. 7
Ben Earl He kept England there at times with his tenacity and took the break from Smith’s effort. He gave away a costly penalty but a shout out to player of the tournament – certainly England’s best. 7
Replacements: Theo Dan (for George 50) The line hits out 5; Joe Marler (for Genge 50) Solid 6; Will Stuart (for Cole 50) stuck 6; Ethan Roots (for Chessum 55) 6; Alex Dombrandt (for Underhill 67) n/a; Danny Care (for Mitchell 70) Increased pace 6; Marcus Smith (for Furbank 8) Excellent 8; Manu Tuilagi (for Slade 60) 7
