England get off to winning start

England 25, France 17 (full-time)

England got their RBS 6 Nations Championship campaign off to a winning start by beating last season’s Grand Slam champions France 25-17 at Twickenham.

Full-back Jason Robinson scored England’s solitary try, but a 20-point haul from fly-half Jonny Wilkinson - he passed 600 Test points in the process - proved significant.

Flanker Olivier Magne, full-back Clement Poitrenaud and centre Damien Traille bagged French tries, yet the visitors could not prevent a third successive Twickenham defeat as England made it 19 successive wins on home soil.

It was an unconvincing England display though, and head coach Clive Woodward knows that significant improvements are required for this season’s remaining challenges.

There was still much collective head-shaking on the England bench, notably from Woodward, confirming that he knew this had not been one of his team’s better days.

Merceron helped their cause by missing another penalty, but France enjoyed territorial supremacy late on, and centre Damien Traille crossed for a try in the second minute of injury time.

Traille’s touchdown meant that France took the try count 3-1. Once again though, Wilkinson’s brilliant kicking made the difference.