Owen Farrell Marcus Smith Freddie Steward Damian Penaud Charles Ollivon Thomas Ramos Britain France Ireland Sport Rugby win Owen Farrell Marcus Smith Freddie Steward Damian Penaud Charles Ollivon Thomas Ramos Britain France Ireland

France secure record win over sorry England

rte.ie

Rampant France ran in seven tries to overwhelm a ragged England 53-10, their biggest ever win over the English and first in the Six Nations at Twickenham for 18 years.The French also stayed in contention to win this year's title ahead of their final game against Wales, climbing to second in the standings behind Ireland.Tries by fullback Thomas Ramos, lock Thibaud Flament and flanker Charles Ollivon gave the visitors a 27-3 halftime lead.England flyhalf Marcus Smith, picked ahead of regular captain Owen Farrell, failed to get his team firing as the hosts made a slew of handling errors and gave away a succession of penalties to halt what little momentum they had in driving rain.Fullback Freddie Steward powered over soon after the interval to give England faint hopes of a comeback but fatal indecision allowed Flament to pick up a loose ball and steam over for his second try in the 57th minute.Ramos scythed through to set up the fifth French try, Smith scrambling back to retrieve the ball near the line but unable to stop Ollivon touching down.Farrell was sent on to try to improve England's defence but they rarely threatened to reduce the deficit and it was France who struck again.A fine kick by Gael Fickou set up Damian Penaud to stroll over the line and the winger quickly added his second try as the hosts crumbled.With fans streaming out of the stadium, Smith made a searing break to set up the opportunity of a consolation score but England conceded another soft penalty and France were left to celebrate a statement win ahead of this year's World Cup which they are hosting.

Related News
England drew first blood through an Owen Farrell penalty as part of an encouraging start for the visitors that included significant headway made at the breakdown compared to France a week earlier.
England have to put things right after a record 53-10 drubbing by France in last week's Six Nations encounter, prop Ellis Genge said, adding that he and his team mates have made a pact to ensure that such a defeat is not repeated.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.