England
Max Malins Not the best start with a poor pass to Watson but settled quickly and always looked to counter. Had to be alert defensively. 6
Anthony Watson Fourth try of the tournament. Marked his 50th cap with another fine, sidestepping showing. A nailed on Lion. 8
Henry Slade Graceful in attack, floating through gaps,and did superbly well to deny Jalibert. Robust in defence too. 7
Owen Farrell (capt) Gradually playing his way into form. No issues with leadership this week. England stayed patient and he deserves credit for that. 7
Jonny May Kept coming in off his wing. Didn’t get the try his workrate might have warranted but that won’t bother him. Excelled in the air. 7
George Ford Caused problems with his kicking and guided England’s attack with authority, particularly as France became more defensive. 8
Ben Youngs Excellent. Outshone illustrious opposite number bar the opening two minutes. Plenty of darts around the fringes. 8
Mako Vunipola Conceded a penalty at scrum time but at least it was England’s first and not until the 25th minute. Solid if unspectacular. 6
Luke Cowan-Dickie Carried well and ran a decent lineout. Will come under pressure again from George but that can only be a good thing. 6
Kyle Sinckler Got better as the match wore on and began to exert influence on the scrum. Developing into a world class operator. 8
Maro Itoje A subdued start but came up with a decisive try. Always a pest at the lineout and put Dupont under increasing pressure. 8
Charlie Ewels No complaints on what was a rare start for a player who was picked to add impact at the lineout. 6
Mark Wilson More like it after an off day against Wales, throwing himself about and dovetailing nicely with Curry. Emptied the tank. 7
Tom Curry Everywhere in defence and is increasingly effective with ball in hand. Important turnover just before halftime. 9
Billy Vunipola Some hard carries and plenty of donkey work. Probably not enough to convince those who want to see others given a go. 7
REPLACEMENTS Jamie George (for Cowan-Dickie 72) Cool head late on 7; Ellis Genge (for M Vunipola 63) Made a positive impact 7; Will Stuart (for Sinckler 72) 6; Jonny Hill (for Ewels 78) n/a; Ben Earl (for Wilson 63) Big late penalty against 6; Dan Robson (for Youngs 76) n/a; Ollie Lawrence (for Slade 73) Some decent carries 6; Elliot Daly (for Daly 63) Lively 7.
France
Brice Dulin Tested aerially but despite his size he has a considerable head for heights. Kicking wasn’t great, which was costly late on. 6
Teddy Thomas A delight to watch in this kind of mood. Always looking to play. It might not always be the correct option but it’s great value. 6
Virimi Vakatawa Threatened to break the shackles every now and then but looked to take a blow to the shoulder and that seemed to restrict him. 6
Gaël Fickou Such a classy player. Didn’t deserve to end up on the losing side, even if he faded as the match wore on. 8
Damian Penaud Can look uninterested at times but then springs to life and is so hard to bring down. Finished off France’s wonderful second try. 7
Matthieu Jalibert Lovely pass to Penaud for France’s second try and danced his way through England’s defence a couple of times. 8
Antoine Dupont Took him just over a minute to live up to all the hype but he was relatively well shackled thereafter. Costly late knock-on 6
Cyril Baille Important tackle on Youngs and cropped up all over the park. Comfortable with ball in hand and the pick of the front-rowers. 7
Julien Marchand Possesses a remarkable turn of pace and had one barnstorming run in the first half but lineout throwing was a little wobbly. 6
Mohamed Haouas Isn’t really made for this kind of breathless contest. Got stuck in before making way on the hour mark. 6
Romain Taofifénua Drafted in to replace Le Roux but rose to the challenge. Hefty carrier, well used in attack and a key turnover in defence. 8
Paul Willemse Gave away a silly penalty in front of the posts. Made life hard at the lineout and stuck to the task defensively. 6
Dylan Cretin Cropped up in the wide channels well but not to great effect and likely to come under pressure for his place. 6
Charles Ollivon (capt) A running threat in the first period but wasn’t able to stretch his legs in the second as France adopted a more defensive stance. 7
Grégory Alldritt Gets through so much of the grunt work for this side and did his best to stem the tide as France came under increasing pressure. 7
REPLACEMENTS Camille Chat (for Marchand 72) n/a; Jean-Baptiste Gros (for Baille 68) Struggled 5; Dorian Aldegheri (for Haouas 59) Added some muscle 6; Cyril Cazeaux (for Taofifenua 59) Put himself about 6; Cameron Woki (for Cretin 72) n/a.
