Six Nations: France ‘way behind’ England

French coach Bernard Laporte surveyed the wreckage left by another Twickenham trail of Six Nations destruction, and then admitted: ‘‘We are way behind England.’’

Records tumbled in trademark England fashion as France collapsed mentally and physically during a final quarter when the runaway tournament leaders ran riot.

The Six Nations title holders and odds-on Grand Slam favourites racked up 28 unanswered points to smash heroic French resistance through some breathtaking exhibition rugby.

England’s devastating finale was light years away from what had preceded it.

They trailed 16-13 at the interval, looked vulnerable every time France attacked, and twice required critical video referee rulings which confirmed that brilliant defensive work from Iain Balshaw and Matt Dawson had prevented certain tries for Christophe Dominici and Xavier Garbajosa.

But once the magnificent Balshaw grabbed his fifth Test touchdown midway through a memorable second period, England cut loose to leave Laporte facing an uncertain future following a campaign which produced only two wins and subsequent mid-table mediocrity.

Victory over Ireland - a game delayed until next season because of the foot-and-mouth epidemic - will give England championship and Grand Slam glory. No-one can say they do not deserve it.

‘‘We were not the same team after half-time,’’ said Laporte.

‘‘It was like going from 25 kilometres an hour to 10 kilometres an hour in the space of 10 minutes.

‘‘We are way behind England they’re a level above us and have become a very difficult team to beat.’’

Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson inspired another afternoon of landmark feats during a Six Nations season when English rugby’s record books have required regular rewriting.

Wilkinson’s 18 points took him past Rob Andrew as England’s all-time highest Test match scorer and through the 400 barrier. He also broke his own record for most points by an England player 78 in a championship season.

England have now posted 215 tournament points this term another record while 41 was their previous highest tally against France.

It was England’s eighth successive win - South Africa (twice), Australia, France, Argentina, Wales, Scotland and Italy being their scalps - and 10th in a row at Twickenham.

Full-throated renditions of Queen’s ‘‘We Are The Champions’’ emanated from Twickenham’s packed bars after another memorable Six Nations occasion, but while Ireland might have something to say about that, England look unstoppable.

‘‘This is a fantastic team with world-class players, and I am very proud of them,’’ said England manager Clive Woodward.

‘‘We’ve got momentum going, and we are all looking forward to getting back together for the Ireland game.’’

Before then, Woodward will take a young 36-strong squad on tour to America and Canada, while the inevitably England-dominated Lions party tackle Australia’s finest Down Under.

‘‘Selection isn’t finalised yet,’’ said England coach and Lions assistant Andy Robinson.

‘‘But having put in four good performances, there is going to be a fair spread of English players it is not rocket science to work that out.’’

No English player underlined his Lions Test team claims more than flanker Richard Hill, whose lung-busting 44th-minute solo try capped a colossal man-of-the-match contribution.

Hill’s touchdown wiped out the half-time arrears, and lifted English spirits at a time when matters were balanced on the proverbial knife edge.

Despite French fly-half Gerald Merceron then dropping a goal that made it 20-19, England finally found overdrive as Balshaw, hooker Phil Greening, centre Mike Catt, who capitalised on Austin Healey’s audacious overhead kick, and substitute Matt Perry added further touchdowns.

‘‘When I received the ball, I fully expected to be tackled pretty much straight away,’’ recalled Hill.

‘‘But there was a gap there, and I started looking for support on the outside, thinking we could create a nice two on one situation on their full-back.

‘‘Once I realised there was no-one outside though, and the full-back wasn’t making any ground towards me, I thought there was only one option here, and that was to go for the line.’’

England began the second period exactly as they had started the first, scoring an early try, but unlike after centre Will Greenwood crossed, there was to be no French comeback this time.

Facing a worrying 10-0 deficit, France found a 20-minute purple patch when their rugby rekindled memories of that sensational World Cup semi-final victory over New Zealand at Twickenham 18 months ago.

Wing Philippe Bernat-Salles bagged his 26th try in 41 Tests, Dominici went agonisingly close and centre Stephane Glas consistently cut England’s midfield defence to shreds.

But England somehow clung on to French coat tails, regrouped during the half-time break and then disappeared way over the horizon.

‘‘Our defence wasn’t very good in the first half. We missed a lot of tackles, and France exploited us very well,’’ said Hill.

‘‘A lot of our problems stemmed from the fact that we weren’t getting beyond two or three phases of play, which is critical in this new age of rugby. We had to be a lot tighter in the second half.’’

Woodward added: ‘‘We tried to be too flashy, too early, when we should have been a bit more direct.

‘‘We made too many basic mistakes, and it wasn’t the England team we know. The penalty count was too high, the lineout wasn’t straight and our option-taking was not what it should have been.

‘‘Obviously, we were concerned about the first half, but there was no panic during the interval, which is the measure of a good team. It was a case of getting back out there and starting again.’’

In the end, England’s superior fitness told a graphic tale.

While white shirts roamed everywhere, especially the one worn by Jason Robinson, so French energy reserves dwindled until there was nothing left in the tank.

That fact was emphasised when Perry sprinted 25 metres unopposed for England’s final try.

The 29-point winning margin was England’s biggest against France since 1911 another startling statistic so horribly unfair on Laporte’s battlers, but somehow so inevitable once everything clicked.

This all-time best England team just keeps getting better and better.