So, that wasn’t quite the disaster for England that it had looked at one stage, with Danny Cipriani and Jonathan Joseph running in late tries to lend the scoreline a more balanced look. The visitors were undercooking in pretty much every department for the first hour, with France putting the pack in trouble repeatedly.
That England improved markedly once changes were made won’t be lost on Stuart Lancaster. With plenty of selection decisions to come in the next month, the late efforts of Danny Cipriani, Nick Easter and Jamie George will give the England head coach plenty to think about.
For France, Frédéric Michalak kicked 20 points to stake his claim for a starting berth, Yoann Huget was a constant threat and scored the game’s best try, and the pack performed solidly to give France a morale-boosting result after so long in the doldrums.
A good night for France, a wake-up call for England, and a decent World Cup hors d’oeuvre with the big show just 26 days away. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
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Full time: France 25-20 England
The marathon move gathers pace, with Ford and Easter linking up as England break into the French 22. Just as French nerves start fraying, the ball is spilled, and France find touch to end the game. It’s a welcome win for the hosts, despite that impressive late fightback from England.
80 mins: England move into the French half, focusing their collective minds brilliantly to keep the ball in play. Nearly two minutes of additional time played, as Twelvetrees finds himself isolated. England can go again, however...
79 mins: After a dismal first hour, England have recovered their groove, but are stuck downfield here. We’re into added time as England move out of their own 22, but they still have possession, and France are looking a little nervous...
TRY! (Joseph 77) France 25-20 England
Attwood, who has carried well in his second-half cameo, wins possession back, and England burst down the left, with Brown drawing his man before finding Joseph, who has open field in front of him, and charges into the corner. Ford converts expertly from the sideline, and somehow, it’s a five-point game...
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75 mins: England are, barring something remarkable, going to lose, but they’ve rallied well here, with Ford finding his range and the reshuffled England pack standing up more effectively to their counterparts. England have a scrum inside the French 22, but Twelvetrees’ inside pass finds fresh air, and France have a chance to break.
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TRY! (Cipriani 71) France 25-13 England
Danny Cipriani takes advantage, as Care and Ford sweep the ball across the field to the substitute, who barrels past Huget and over the line to put a bit of gloss on the scoreline, and do his own World Cup chances little harm. Ford converts to narrow the gap to 12 points.
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70 mins: Wilson and Mako Vunipola have come into the England front row, replacing Cole and Marler. It pays dividends, as from a penalty kick into the corner, the pack force France back towards their own line with a rolling maul, opening up some space for the backs...
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69 mins: Michalak is replaced by Rémi Talès, and receives a hearty ovation from the Paris crowd. France were 20-1 to win the World Cup before this game; I think you’ll struggle to find those odds at full time.
67 mins: Papé, who has been at the heart of France’s forward dominance, is replaced by Flanquart. England attack, with Cipriani leading the charge. They even won their own lineout during that spell, before France get the scrum, perhaps erroneously, after a knock on is given against Cipriani.
France 25-6 England (Michalak penalty)
France are turning the screw, with Michalak chalking up another three points as England’s defence comes undone again at the breakdown. Cipriani and Twelvetrees are on, with Burrell and May making way.
62 mins: “England have been like Tiger Woods at the majors” says Stuart Barnes. If you’ve just arrived from 2002, that now means they’ve been rubbish. France continue to quietly impress, dominating at the lineout as Atonio comes on to join the front row.
61 mins: Ford forces France back with a 40-metre kick downfield, as Danny Cipriani and Billy Twelvetrees wait on the sidelines. They’ll get twenty minutes to force their way into Stuart Lancaster’s plans.
59 mins: There’s a lull here, as the changes, and continued turf problems, have slowed the pace of the game down. “Can we fix it?” asks Bob the Buil Jaco the Referee, as the players seek a suitable spot to scrum down.
57 mins: Three French changes, with Benjamin Kayser, Vincent Debaty and Yannick Nyanga coming on. Guirado, Ben Arous and Picamoles, who has made more progress with ball in hand than anyone else, are the men making way.
56 mins: France could, and probably should, have increased their lead here, with Michalak’s high boot into the air putting the fear into Jonny May, who misses under pressure from the impressive Huget. The ball bounces five yards behind the goal-line, and the hosts collect it, but a knock on lets England off the hook.
54 mins: Two more changes for England: Attwood is on for Launchbury, with Easter replacing Haskell. England lose their own lineout, leading a hitherto anxious Paris crowd to enjoy a few ironic cheers.
52 mins: England get impatient from a promising position, with Ford chipping the ball harmlessly back to Spedding, who can collect from behind the goal-line. From the kick, Vunipola tries to wriggle through, but at the breakdown, England are penalised again.
51 mins: France creep into England territory, before Michalak, sensing a lack of options, tries a drop goal from distance that floats wide. Half an hour for the visitors to rack up some positives...
49 mins: Care feeds the England scrum, but their forwards collapse again and it’s France ball. This might turn into a chastening evening for the visitors.
48 mins: A tough moment for the Youngs family, as both scrum-half Ben and hooker Tom are taken off, replaced by Danny Care and Jamie George.
France 22-6 England (Michalak conversion)
England find themselves two converted tries down as Michalak, who was instrumental in that attacking move, picks up the extra two points.
TRY! (Huget 45) France 20-6 England
France win the lineout and Michalak finds Huget in a not entirely promising position, outside the English 22 towards the left flank. He produces a moment of magic from a standing start, dancing around two tackles and racing away to score.
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43 mins: France have the scrum after George Ford gets in Brown’s way, colliding with the full-back as he tries to bring the ball forward. More hunks of turf are dredged up as England collapse, and Michalak sends the penalty kick upfield and into touch.
42 mins: England maintain momentum, with Youngs showing clean hands to find Joseph on the right flank. It all ends rather meekly, with the ball striking a stray England boot, allowing France to relieve the pressure.
The second half begins, with no changes for either side yet. England are already improved, with Mike Brown sparking a charge downfield. Lawes links up with Nowell down the right flank, before France force the latter into touch.
The second half is imminent, so I ask you this – how far can England, and indeed France, go in this World Cup? The draw leaves both teams with little margin for error if they are to snap up a semi-final place; both will, in all likelihood, need to win their groups.
England have Australia and Wales in theirs, and must face the ever-formidable Fijians on opening night, while France are in Pool D with the much-fancied Ireland, as well as Italy. Thoughts, wildly optimistic or otherwise, are welcome.
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Half-time: France 15-6 England
The hosts deservedly lead after a positive first-half performance, but England have been incoherent, repeatedly conceding penalties and only troubling the French defence in the final moments. France lead by nine, and there’s still all to play for. Chapeau to Frédéric Michalak, who has performed well at fly-half, and became his nation’s all-time leading point scorer with his four successful penalty kicks.
France 15-6 England (Ford penalty)
Ford takes his time, and a few deep breaths, after leading that lengthy attacking spell, and slots away the kick to reduce the arrears.
37 mins: England make some attacking headway, with Jonathan Joseph and Burrell linking well, and France concede a penalty. England with a chance to cut the lead to nine points, which I imagine they would take after their first-half performance.
36 mins: After two quickfire turnovers in succession, Ford finds a quality kick, dropping the ball into play behind Nakaitaci before Spedding intervenes. The upshot is that England are back in French territory with two minutes left in the half.
34 mins: Can England make this scoreline a touch more flattering before half-time? There are the same issues going forward as there have been in defence, with Vunipola continuing a bad half by losing possession. France kick long, and England have to rebuild from within their own half.
France 15-3 England (Michalak penalty)
Penalty number four for Michalak, drilling a central kick from thirty yards out with zero fuss. England will be keen to hear the whistle for half-time, as for once that sound won’t mean bad news.
32 mins: Huget is hit by a high Vunipola tackle, the No8 hauling him down around the neck. It’s clumsy, but after a review Vunipola escapes a yellow card, as his hands moved up from the shoulder. Fair enough, but it’s yet another penalty for France.
31 mins: After a spell of exchanging kicks, Fofana breaks through for France, before Jack Nowell tidies up despite some hearty French tackling.
30 mins: Ford goes for goal from a long, long way out, and his ambitious effort drops short of the posts. France’s nine-point cushion remains intact.
29 mins: Jack Nowell leads a rare England attack, but France repel them at the halfway line, before Ben Arous gives away a penalty...
28 mins: After that flurry of, well, two penalties, a stat: England have made 54 tackles so far, compared to France’s 4. It’s been a dominant opening half hour from the hosts, to say the least.
France 12-3 England (Ford penalty)
Ford gets England on the board, tucking away a cheap penalty from around the French 22, after Spedding was penalised from the restart.
France 12-0 England (Michalak penalty)
Forgive me for repeating myself. A stop-start French scrum leads to another French penalty, as England’s pack gets rolled over. It’s well within range for Michalak, who gets his third score from four attempts.
23 mins: The visitors do gain possession this time, but Brown fluffs his lines, knocking on after Ford found him with a searching wide pass. 82% possession for France so far, with England struggling to even manage the basics in the first quarter.
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21 mins: France resume their residency in the England half, before Brown tries to heave the ball downfield. Spedding collects, and sensibly kicks for touch – particularly with England losing both of their own lineouts so far.
20 mins: A tighter angle and greater distance from Michalak here, and he misses the penalty to keep the scoreline from getting uncomfortably lopsided for England.
18 mins: James Haskell is perhaps the only forward in white to have impressed so far, making a few tackles, most notably to stop the momentum of Michalak. England regain possession, but concede yet another penalty, Robshaw the culprit this time.
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17 mins: England get their first period of possession, with Vinupola collecting the kick and working the ball wide to May. The move breaks down, and after England lose possession from a lineout, it’s a French scrum.
France 9-0 England (Michalak penalty)
The indisciplined start continues, with Vunipola needlessly caught offside. Michalak won’t miss this, and slots it over to become numero one points scorer for France.
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14 mins: More pressure from France, with England’s forwards struggling at the breakdown. Tillous-Borde sees an opening, chipping towards the try line from the 22, and Brown does brilliantly to fend off Huget and prevent the opening try.
13 mins: France have another promising position from the lineout, inside England’s half. Guirado’s delivery is just decent enough, and France hang onto possession.
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12 mins: Michalak punts the ball downfield, and Mike Brown has time with the ball in hand, but his kick sails straight to Picamoles. France with possession again, and there’s another penalty at the breakdown for the hosts.
France 6-0 England (Michalak penalty)
Michalak takes this one, slotting over to move within one point of becoming France’s all-time record points scorer. More pressingly, this has been a shaky first ten minutes for England.
9 mins: France again attack down the right, before Bastareaud gets involved to haul the ball inside the England 22. England hold firm, but Cole is penalised for coming round the side, which is generous on the Leicester man. A straightforward chance for France to carve out a 6-0 lead.
7 mins: The turf holds up better over on the French right flank. France are penalised, but Ford’s kick hands possession right back to the hosts. Ford continues his slow start by missing a catch, and France continue to press in scrappy fashion.
6 mins: Michalak sends a high, angled kick towards the right flank, but Huget knocks on as he aims to reel the ball in. England scrum close to the halfway line.
4 mins: A France scrum crumbles, with huge divots of turf dragged up in the centre of the field. Mike Brown eventually tidies up with a kick downfield and into touch.
France 3-0 England (Spedding penalty)
It’s Spedding who lines it up, central but virtually on the halfway line. No problem for the full-back, who hoofs it into the Paris night and down between the posts. First blood to France!
2 mins: Spedding leads a France charge forward, Burrell gets off to a shoddy start with a cheap penalty, rolling away slowly from the tackle. After allowing an advantage, Peyper brings it back for a France penalty...
1 min: France gain possession, and Tillous-Borde sends up a dangerous kick from a narrow angle, and Vunipola can only spill the ball into touch. French lineout in England territory, but the visitors claim the ball and clear.
We're off!
Peyper peeps on his whistle, and George Ford gets the match underway...
Anthem time. England are up first, with an unsurprising lack of crowd support leaving Stuart Lancaster’s lads a little exposed. 8/10 for effort, even if the harmonies weren’t on point. La Marseillaise is delivered with gusto by a crowd that looks full to the rafters; certainly fuller than Twickenham last week.
It’s not just England who have made sweeping changes; France only retain Louis Picamoles, Yoann Maestri and Scott Spedding from last week, with first-choice centres Wesley Fofana and Mathieu Bastareaud set to make things tricky for the visitors.
Stuart Lancaster has said the win is priority No1, which is at it should be. With the squad selection deadline coming up on August 31, a few players could be forgiven for forgetting the team ethic as the game goes on.
Fifteen minutes until kick off. Predictions, anyone? England have won eight of the last 11 installments of Le Crunch, including two victories here in Paris. So, France it is, then.
England have won the toss and will kick off. South Africa’s Jaco Peyper, seen looking awkward in the middle here, will referee tonight’s game, as well as World Cup opener England v Fiji next month. It’s a sultry 28 degrees in Paris this evening.
Team news
Not exactly hot off the press, but here are tonight’s teams:
France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé (c), 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Gaël Fickou.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Nick Easter, 21 Danny Care, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.
Preamble
Hello, bonjour and welcome as England and France renew acquaintances, only a week after Stuart Lancaster’s team enjoyed an entertaining 19-14 win at Twickenham. Tonight, we head to Paris for the sequel: let’s hope it’s more The Godfather Part II, less Scary Movie 2.
In terms of personnel, this will be a very different occasion, with just the 26 changes across the two line-ups. With just one more warm-up each – England host Ireland, France host Scotland – before the World Cup kicks off in September, there are one or two players nervously leaning on the playground wall as Lancaster and Philippe Saint-André prepare to make their final squad cuts.
Lancaster has, well, shuffled the pack to name arguably his strongest available group of forwards, while Mike Brown, George Ford and Jonathan Joseph all come back into the team, with the efforts of Alex Goode at full-back last weekend putting Brown under a little pressure. Even less secure is Luther Burrell, with the Six Nations regular feeling the heat with Henry Slade and Sam Burgess offering plenty of options at centre.
England, with a largely settled line-up and options in terms of depth, offer a contrast with France, for whom Saint-André has already chopped his squad down to 36. The vast majority will make the squad, but the question of who lines up for their opener against Italy is a trickier one; at fly-half, the coach has turned to Frédéric Michalak, set to become France’s record points scorer, but making just a second start in two years.
So, players playing for places and two teams trying to find their rhythm with the World Cup looming. It bears repeating that only one final hasn’t featured one of these two sides; what happens tonight could have repercussions deep into the tournament. Either way, this should be a memorable occasion under the lights. Kick off is at 8pm BST; team news to follow shortly.
Niall will be here with all the buildup to the 8pm kick-off at the Stade de France. In the meantime, here’s Dean Ryan on Stuart Lancaster’s dilemma at centre:
No one would accuse England of being quick to spot talent, but had Harry Slade performed last autumn as he did last weekend, then he would probably be nailed on for this World Cup not the next. The only question would be playing in what position?
Well, with Lancaster saying he is taking four centres, the assumption is that Luther Burrell is playing for his World Cup place on Saturday and that (not that Lancaster says as much) the preferred pairing is Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph, given that England have retreated from the ball-playing inside-centre and handed the role to a ball-carrier, a guy who can take it up, get over the gain line, pull in two or three defenders before offloading. Much as Burgess did against France. But what if?
The downside of last Saturday was the undoing of England’s “go-to” option – the set piece – when all but the best are on the field. The upside was that when England got ball they always looked dangerous and it was evident that the threat of Anthony Watson and Jonny May melted French minds. Watson got two tries, May one, Slade had a hand in all three. With Barritt and Joseph in the centre would the ball have reached the wings with such regularity?
