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 Twickenham.
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.
But England refused to give up and with full debutant Fin Smith pulling the strings like a seasoned campaigner at out-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.
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
Read more on rte.ie
rte.ie
