England clinch Autumn Nations Cup with sudden-death victory over France

France were under-strength but put in a spirited display to take England all the way

Owen Farrell supplied the winning penalty (Adam Davy/PA)

England needed extra time to extinguish France’s brave resistance as they lifted the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup with a 22-19 victory in front of 2,000 noisy fans at Twickenham.

Sudden death was ushered in when Luke Cowan-Dickie finished a driving maul with 29 seconds of regular time remaining, Owen Farrell averting a humiliating defeat against a shadow Les Bleus side by kicking the conversion to set up a grandstand finish