ENG
No.Name
15Delon Armitage, -
T
14Mark Cueto, -
T
13Mike Tindall, -
12Riki Flutey, -
T
2
11Ugo Monye, -
10Toby Flood, -
3
9Harry Ellis, -
1Andrew Sheridan, -
2Lee Mears, -
3Phil Vickery, -
4Steve Borthwick, -
5Simon Shaw, -
6Tom Croft, -
7Joe Worsley, -
T
8Nick Easter, -
Replacements
16Dylan Hartley, -
17Julian White, -
18Nick Kennedy, -
19James Haskell, -
20Danny Care, -
21Andy Goode, -
22Mathew Tait, -

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
11:00 AM, March 15, 2009
Attendance: 82,000
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

84'34-10 End of half
84'34-10 End of half
81'+334-10 End of second half
80'England retain possession and do look to finish in style. Flutey makes a half break, and England go again, Hartley making a barracking run. This is great stuff from England, everybody committing and looking like they were playing in the first half. England have a penalty and choose to take a scrum with both sides open (we are three minutes past the 80). Goode and Tait engineer half an opening for Tindall who is brought down short of the line, Goode tries a cross field kick, but the French secure the ball, and having had enough of this afternoon, put the ball into touch to end the game. A rousing finish for England, which is appropriate, as they were immense in the first half. The second half was less convincing but I get the impression that this was because they were trying a little too hard. The French were devastated and despite some good periods in the second half will be very worried by the extent and nature of this defeat. England are obviously delighted and will feel like they are back on track. It was a cracking game, especially in the first half, and it will be a good thing for all rugby supporters and watchers if England can turn in performances like this on a regular basis. Thanks for joining me, Jamie Allaway, and I hope you can join Scrum.com again next weekend for the deciding and final round of games in the 2009 6 Nations.
79'England have a penalty are Goode is putting it into touch. One last attack but I think the players would be happy to get off the field now.
77' As decided by Brian Moore, he has played very well, but could equally have been Easter, Borthwick, Flutey or Armitage. England's all round performance in the first half was exceptional and there were a number of notable individual performances. The second half hasn't had the same intensity or quality and at this stage there are a lot of very tired looking players.
76'Easter and Armitage both make ground over the game line with strong runs onto the ball but Goode overcooks a crossfield kick, as the move breaks down.
74'Easter is profligate with a lazy offload returning possession to the French, but the French knock on in the midfield. They were aggressive and coming back into this game, but seem to have lost that momentum.
73'Player substituted - Sylvain Marconnet , France
73'Substitute on - Lionel Faure , France
73'Player substituted - Ugo Monye , England
73'Substitute on - Mathew Tait , England
72'A couple of misplaced passes go behind the intended recipients in the French back line and they are forced to scramble a defence and clear. England will hope to build a bit on the last few minutes and snuff out any French resurgence.
71'England have had a few phases and it looks to settle them down. A bit of possession and control allows them to break through as Easter offloads to Armitge, whose pace almost carries him to the line, but he cannot find the offload. That was more like it. Possession and simple rugby allowed them to find the opportunity rather than making mistakes trying to create one.
69'France batter away still and England are forced to put in huge numbers of tackles. A turnover allows them to clear but the throw in is taken quickly and France attack again.
68'Substitute on - Louis Picamoles , France
68'Player substituted - Imanol Harinordoquy , France
68'Substitute on - Nick Kennedy , England
68'Player substituted - Joe Worsley , England
67'A clever kick from Traille is shepherded out by Monye. Traille seems to be dictating the shape of this game since coming on and the two changes at outside half have reversed the balance of the match. England are missing Flood.
66'Player substituted - Andrew Sheridan , England
66'Substitute on - Julian White , England
65'A touch of aerial stuff is finished by a French counter attack. They are certainly looking more likely at the moment.
64'34-10 Try - Julien Malzieu , France
63'TRY Simple stuff, the ball comes out of the French scrum, it's a 3 on 2 on the blind side and the final man Traille is unopposed in the corner. England will want to remedy this now because bad old habits are coming back and if this continues it will take the gloss off the English victory.
62'English scrum collapses and Sheridan gets a warning. That's a large number of penalties conceded in the English 22. The scoreline means that the points haven't always been taken, but on another day France may have accumulated 12 or 15.
61'A turnover each way and some incredibly scrappy rucking eats up a minute or two as both sides are forced to send numbers crashing in.
60'Player substituted - Julian White , England
60'Substitute on - Phil Vickery , England
60'Player substituted - Dimitri Szarzewski , France
60'Substitute on - Benjamin Kayser , France
59'France have another penalty as Vickery fails to roll away. Lineout in the English 22.
59'Substitute on - Sebastien Tillous-Borde , France
59'Player substituted - Morgan Parra , France
59'Substitute on - James Haskell , England
59'Player substituted - Simon Shaw , England
58'Player substituted - Lee Mears , England
58'Substitute on - Dylan Hartley , England
57'England again strip the ball from French hands and in running it back at them, stretch the French defence. Eventually though they concede a penalty and France clear. England look like they need to simplify things again and concentrate on the basics which have served them so well today. They're trying to score from every attack at the moment.
56'34-5 Try - Dimitri Szarzewski , France
55'TRY France continue to work the ball short and eventually work numbers around the edge and Szarzewski lunges over.
55'Substitute on - Danny Care , England
55'Player substituted - Harry Ellis , England
54'The French are driving the ball forward and this is testing the English defence.
53'England concede a penalty in front of the posts, but given the scoreline, France have to run it. That's now a couple of penalties in this area of the field and England looking under a little bit of pressure. Of course, this is all relative, as a 34 point cushion means it is less than critical.
52'Shaw doesn't look comfortable playing fullback and is caught in possession. His is isolated and gives away the penalty. France now have a chance to base an attack in the English 22. They win the lineout and begin driving the ball up through the forwards.
52'Substitute on - Julian White , England
52'Player substituted - Phil Vickery , England
51'Pressure is telling as the French scrum concedes the penalty. Easter takes the ball up quickly and the French give another penalty. Desperate stuff.
51'Player substituted - Lionel Faure , France
51'Substitute on - Thomas Domingo , France
49'England are not just attacking well, but pressurise the French in possession and force a knock on inside the French 10 metre line.
48'Just to show how much it is England's day, an overlong kick, which looked like going dead, bounces off the post and forces the French to run.
48'Player substituted - Francois Trinh-Duc , France
48'Substitute on - Damien Traille , France
48'Substitute on - Julien Bonnaire , France
48'Player substituted - Jerome Thion , France
48'Player substituted - Mathieu Bastareaud , France
48'Substitute on - Florian Fritz , France
47'Fantastic kick by Goode. England have had a couple of phases in which they tried plenty but went backwards. Goode sees a gap and drives a low kick scudding into touch in the French 22. The way the French lineout has been, this puts them under quite a lot of pressure.
45'Shaw rips the ball to gain England possession as the crowd responds to this performance with 'swing low' echoing around Twickenham.
44'Substitute on - Julian White , England
44'Player substituted - Phil Vickery , England
43'Again, France have a lineout even closer to the English line. Borthwick steals and England clear upfield. All going right for one team here.
42'34-0 Try - Riki Flutey , England
41'INCREDIBLE! TRY France have a lineout on the English 22 from the restart, but knock the ball on. England break from their own 22, Tindall passing to Armitage who charges past three on the outside before yet another simple, well-timed pass to the supporting man releases Flutey, who is half caught but tumbles over the line. Goode converts, England carrying on where they left off.
41'Substitute on - Andy Goode , England
41'Player substituted - Toby Flood , England
41'+129-0 End of first half
40'That's half time and what an astonishing half. The running rugby came from England and everything they did came off for them. They were direct and effective, always supporting each other and they were just too much for the French. The French look shellshocked, they didn't look at their best but in the face of this English attack they have been taken apart. 29-0 at half time- who could have predicted that?
40'29-0 Start of second half
40'29-0 Try - Joe Worsley , England
39'UNBELIEVABLE TRY England turn the ball over and hack it forward. Cueto wins the foot race but can't kick the ball on. The next man dives on it pops the ball up to Flood who slips short of the line unchallenged. However the ball comes back quickly and goes through the hands of a couple of forwards, before Worsley goes over. Armitage misses the tricky kick as Flood looks to have popped his shoulder as he desperately tried to take that ball over the French line.
39'24-0 Conversion - Toby Flood , England
38'22-0 Try - Delon Armitage , England
37' TRY Shaw has a dip for the line and is held up, however the ball is back quickly, Flood puts in Armitage who scores the try.
36'Chabal is stripped of the ball by Flutey Remarkable. England break running the ball back and are stopped fractionally short of the French line. The ball is very slow and the forwards are forced to work some short drives.
34'Several good phases for England as they probe the French defence. They are trying to run from deep to hit the ball with some pace and the French defence is up quickly. Sometimes this means they don't make ground but it is looking threatening. Flood's grubber through is too long though and there is a 22.
32'Oooooh, England had numbers on the left and backs against forwards but unfortunately Tindall can't make the pass to release them, almost giving away a breakaway interception. Fortunately for him England scrag the man and win the ball back as he is forced to hold on.
30'Hooray! A legitimate scrum. Possesion is kicked away by Tindall thought and we engage in our first sustained period of aerial ping pong.
29'France work a couple of phases but without significant threat. The English defence prevents them ever making any real ground and eventually a pass goes astray. The pass was from Trinh-Duc who had to shift his body in order not to pass off his right, you'd expect most players at this level to be able to pass off either hand.
28'Still no scrum as after three resets an English scrum becomes a French free kick.
26'The scrum leads to a French penalty, we're yet to have a scrum that hasn't resulted in a free kick or penalty.
25'Denied by a forward pass! Coming back on the blindside England find numbers, Armitage passes to Mears, who releases Croft who goes over the line, but the whistle has gone.
24'France infringe again, and again Flood puts the ball into touch deep in the French half. The French really putting themselves under pressure here and they will have to change this soon, otherwise England will be out of sight come half time.
24'17-0 Conversion - Toby Flood , England
23'15-0 Try - Riki Flutey , England
22'TRY Direct from the lineout a lovely move involving an inside pass to Cueto coming in from his wing cuts the French defence in half. Cueto returns the earlier favour by giving Flutey a pass to run in under the posts. Neat, effective running by the English backs and a 17 point lead for England is looking very healthy.
21'More French indiscipline as an offside allows Flood to set up a lineout in the French 22.
20'Brilliant take by Armitage under a massively high ball. Just have to mention it for its sheer skill and bravery.
19'Chabal shoves Borthwick in the air from the restart and ENgland get to build in French territory again, however an exceptional clearance from Trinh-Duc finds touch deep in the English half.
19'10-0 Penalty goal - Toby Flood , England
18'Flood puts a relatively straightforward penalty between the posts.
16'The French scrum collapses under pressure from Sheridan. Flood makes touch this time on the French 22 and Harinordiquay is caught offside. England seem to be making more of their attacking positions and, whisper it, making less crucial mistakes.
15'The French side seem to be getting into their stride and have worked several phases and their running is direct and making the game line. However, another knock-on prevents them building on another platform in the English half.
13'France looking more dangerous now as half-breaks fro Harinordiquay and Trinh-Duc take them into the English 22. The ball is turned over in the end though.
12'Shaw gives away another penalty at the ruck, that's his second and the ref gave him plenty of warning on this one. He's new into the side today but seems to have the same problems that England have had all tournament.
11'The kick is on the 10 metre line, right of centre and Morgan Parra has the responsibility. He pulls it wide, not a good connection at all.
10'Blame me for that one. Simon Shaw goes flying into a ruck from the side and the French have a kickable penalty.
9'A couple of mistakes now from both sides, penalty conceded by the French hooker in the ruck, but Flood misses touch. France have made more errors so far and England's discipline looks good- so far. Most importantly, though, they've managed to get their running players in positions to attack French forwards and gaps.
7'France show their willingness to run today, taking a quick lineout and running from deep. England turn the ball over though and run it back, Monye going outside and making considerable ground. This start is the entertaining rugby we were looking for!
5'Bastereaud shows that a good start won't be enough on its own as he first batters through the English first-line before side-stepping Armitage. He knocks-on the tackle but that's enough to show his threat already.
4'England steal the French lineout- all going for them at the moment.
3'England are right up in the French faces and have caused another knock-on. They give away the penalty but still look very on top for the first few minutes.
3'7-0 Conversion - Toby Flood , England
2'5-0 Try - Mark Cueto , England
1'We'll be restarting shortly, those 2 tries in quick succession at the end of the first half might have ended the contest. England could not have been more different than the lacklustre side of the first few games and will want to build on this. Quite frankly, France need to come out and play well just to salvage some pride and prevent an unwanted new record.
1'Flood kicks off for England and we are underway. Cracking try! What a start for England. Harinordiquay knocks on Monye's up-and-under and England regain the ball and run at the French better than they have all tournament. In the second phase Flutey finds himself up against Chabal and skins him. He commits the fullback and passes for Cueto to run in the try. Simple, effective, and a real confidence builder for England.
1'2.50pm Good afternoon, I'm Jamie Allaway, and welcome to Scrum.com's coverage of the England vs France match from Twickenham. And what an afternoon it is; the sun is out, it's warm and dry and perfect conditions for rugby so I am looking forward to a running element to the always competitive rugby between these two sides. France look the most likely to provide that running and it is often overlooked that they are still in contention for the championship if Wales beat Ireland and they win well here and against Italy next week. Lievrement has picked a bulky side to counter England, most notably Chabal starts in the back row. As for England the only topic is still the disciplinary issues that have plagued them recently. I heard the astonished stat this morning that England are yet to concede a try this tournament while they have 15 men on the field. Sackey is out, as are Kennedy and Haskell, for Monye, Shaw and Croft respectively. The teams are picked for a physical confrontation; maybe it is just the spring like weather that is making me feel optimistic for a flowing game- we live in hope!
1'0-0 Start of first half

Six Nations 2009 News