England suffer record defeat after being humiliated by France in Six Nations

England were overwhelmed 53-10 by France at Twickenham in a record defeat that removed them from Guinness Six Nations title contention and delivered an alarming reality check to Steve Borthwick’s rebuilding project.

Trailing 27-3 at half-time – their highest interval deficit at Twickenham in any fixture – they were in the midst of full-blown crisis having been taken apart up front.

Thomas Ramos, Thibaud Flament and Charles Ollivon had crossed with alarming ease and England looked completely lost as fault lines opened in their defence, kicking, breakdown and discipline.

The arrival of Owen Farrell and Alex Mitchell off the bench early in the second half came amid an uprising that produced a try for Freddie Steward, but it was short-lived as Flament, Ollivon and Damian Penaud propelled France further in front.

The gulf between the rivals was embarrassing as the World Cup hosts registered their first Six Nations victory at Twickenham since 2005 in a glorious return to form having laboured through much of the tournament.

And it only gets harder for Borthwick’s men as, having faced the team positioned second in the global rankings, they must travel to Dublin next Saturday to take on Grand Slam-chasing Ireland, who occupy the summit.

Marcus Smith did everything he could having ousted Farrell at fly-half, but with his forwards dismantled at every turn he was powerless to halt the collapse.

⚡️ An electric start from @FranceRugby! ⚡️#ENGvFRA | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/vvyiyFEsD1

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 11, 2023

For all the talk of England playing with pace, it was France who raced out of the blocks and when lock Paul Willemse offloaded out of the tackle they were away, with Ethan Dumortier