Coach disconnects French challenge

England 23 France 23

In the rugby world, that is not seen as a particularly good thing at present.

After all, France had just lost their third successive game in the Six Nations, despite having been by far the better side against England for the first three-quarters of the match.

Some of their prodigiously talented players were turning it on, and England were under the cosh.

Then Philippe Saint-Andre made a raft of changes, momentum was lost and the hosts scampered clear to remain on course for the Grand Slam, while France are staring at a potential wooden spoon.

The challenge for Saint-Andre is to rouse his troops and ensure they are in the right frame of mind for Dublin on March 9.

This was an undoubted improvement on the supine defeats to Italy and Wales in their first two games, but the lack of direction and nous in the final 20 minutes was alarming for Les Bleus.

“We go to Dublin next and I hope we are going to build on this game,” said their captain, Thierry Dusautoir, a man who could not be blamed in any way for this defeat.

“We can definitely build on this, although we have lost our first three games. After the first two we came here to Twickenham and played our rugby. That shows we have character and can compete with the best teams.

“We played nice but we lost so we can’t be happy. But I think we have shown we have the potential and quality to win in Dublin.”

They certainly do have the potential to win in the Aviva Stadium, especially if Wesley Fofana, back in the No.12 shirt, is as scintillating as he was on Saturday, when he beat six would-be tacklers for France’s first-half score.

It was just reward for a fine performance from the visitors in the opening 40 minutes, a period in which they pulverised England in the scrum and got the better of them in the loose.

With Louis Picamoles causing havoc, France were on top. But two missed penalties from Morgan Parra proved costly, with France enjoying a slender one point lead at a time when it should have been seven.

Then momentum shifted as Saint-Andre took off Parra and Francois Trinh-Duc, with Frederic Michalak showing the worst of his game after replacing the latter.

England, whose bench made a far greater impact, were energised, and Manu Tuilagi went over for the crucial score after a loose ball popped up perfectly for him to outstrip the covering defence.

The hosts have found a way to win in adversity, while France are becoming accustomed to losing tight games — and they have now lost their last five matches in this competition for the first time since 1958.

And now the spotlight is falling squarely on Saint-Andre. The 45-year-old kept mentioning Jonny Sexton in his post-match debrief, but mainly in relation to the lack of talent available to him to pick from.

Sexton will be wearing the colours of Racing Metro next season, and Saint-Andre believes foreign imports are stifling local youngsters.

The argument has some validity, but if the locals are good enough then surely they can only benefit from playing alongside the likes of Sexton. Either way, Saint-Andre did not water down the task he faces to lift his men over the next fortnight.

“How do I help the players recover before Ireland? Well, the young players need to learn,” said Saint-Andre.

“The taste of losing is terrible but they must keep it in their mouths, while working, improving and being more professional in everything they do, from preparation to skills.

“At the high level you win or lose in small details, and at the moment they are not in our favour. The next game we will be better.

“But now England will play for the Grand Slam, while we will play for the Wooden Spoon. We were flying in November, but now it’s hard stuff.

“At present, all the crucial moments are against us. We lost, it’s my fault. Don’t worry, though, I have big shoulders and I can take the hits.

“Confidence is so important. Wales lost eight games in a row, beat us and then beat Italy easily. We have a new team now, we changed maybe 60 or 70% after the last World Cup — but guys like Fofana and Yoann Maestri are at the level.”

We will discover who else is in two weeks’ time.

Scorers for England: Tries: M Tuilagi. Pens: O Farrell 4, T Flood 2.

Scorers for France: Tries: W Fofana. Cons: M Parra. Pens: M Parra, F Michalak.

ENGLAND: A Goode; C Ashton, M Tuilagi, B Barritt, M Brown; O Farrell, B Youngs; J Marler, D Hartley, D Cole, J Launchbury, G Parling, C Lawes, C Robshaw (capt), T Wood.

Replacements: T Flood for Farrell (62), D Care for B Youngs (59), T Youngs for Hartley (52), M Vunipola for Parling (52), J Haskell for Lawes (52).

FRANCE: Y Huget; V Clerc, M Bastareaud, W Fofana, B Fall; F Trinh-Duc, M Parra; T Domingo, B Kayser, N Mas, C Samson, Y Maestri, Y Nyanga, T Dusautoir (capt), L Picamoles.

Replacements: F Michalak for Trinh-Duc (53), M Machenaud for Parra (67), V Debaty for Domingo (56), D Szarzewski for Kayser (56), L Ducalcon for Mas (65), J Suta for Samson (65), A Claasen for Nyanga (69).

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa).