Famous Fixtures: England v France
Ahead of Saturday's Six Nations meet with France we look back at five classic fixtures between the sides.
2015: England 55-35 France
The 2015 edition of Le Crunch would go down as a classic encounter between the sides. In the final round of the tournament, three teams were in contention for the Six Nations title.
Wales, Ireland and England were all within reach of the title, and with the clash against Les Bleus being the latest kick off of the day, England knew exactly what needed to be done to clinch it.
The target: A 26-point winning margin, the magic number that would edge them above Ireland in the final rankings and secure their first Six Nations title in four years.
The scene that unfolded could only be described as chaotic; The 80 minutes that ensued saw a total of 12 tries, 90 points and ultimate heartbreak for the England players and fans in attendance at Twickenham Stadium.
Tries from Anthony Watson, George Ford, Billy Vunipola and braces for Ben Youngs and Jack Nowell were met with French tries from Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Noa Nakaitaci, Maxime Mermoz, Vincent Debaty and Benjamin Kayser.
This meant that the seven England scores were not enough to secure the much-needed 26-point winning margin, much to the elation of Irish fans who could finally breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate their title defence.
2012: FRANCE 22-24 ENGLAND
A 50 metre try from Manu Tuilagi got England off to the perfect start in Paris, and his effort was quickly followed by a Ben Foden score, giving England a 14-3 lead after just 20 minutes.
Four French penalties and one English effort brought the home side back within two points, but a solo score from flanker Tom Croft handed England the ascendancy.
Croft scythed through Les Bleus’ back division to score what would be his final Test try. A late Wesley Fofana try gave France a glimmer of hope, but a last gasp drop goal from Francois Trinh-Duc fell short.
2008: FRANCE 13-24 ENGLAND
England scored two tries through Paul Sackey and Richard Wigglesworth, whilst Jonny Wilkinson notched up 14 points with the boot, to stun France in the Six Nations.
Sackey’s score came about thanks to a thunderous tackle from outside centre Jamie Noon on French fullback Cedric Heymans. The ball was spilled and Sackey duly hacked it into the goal area before pouncing and scoring.
Wilkinson’s conversion and a further penalty was answered by a converted Lionel Nallet try and an additional three points courtesy of Morgan Parra. But a late Wigglesworth score sealed the win in a game where Wilkinson became the all-time leading drop goal scorer in Test match rugby, overtaking the 28 set by Argentina’s Hugo Porta.
2000: FRANCE 9-15 ENGLAND
Jonny Wilkinson kicked all of England’s 15 points as Clive Woodward’s men hung on in Paris to register their first win in the capital in six years.
In a game with no tries, it was France who looked most likely to score one, after a moment of brilliance from Christophe Dominici set up Thomas Lombard, only for the linesman to deem the final pass forward, disallowing the score.
Opposition place kicker Richard Dourthe was unable to match Wilkinson’s penalty count; successful with three of his five attempts at goal.
Fielding their biggest pack in history at the time, France were given a chance back into the match late on as England’s Danny Grewcock and Austin Healy were both shown yellow cards, but England held on to prevail in Paris.
1991: FRANCE 10-19 ENGLAND
England’s early tactic involved hoisting up-and-unders into the French 22, and after a few unsuccessful attempts, one was the catalyst behind their first three points.
Nigel Heslop hit Serge Blanco after the fullback had called for the mark, but Blanco lashed out with a punch, dropping Heslop, and John Webb was on hand to convert three points.
A no arm tackle from France gave Webb the opportunity to double that lead which he did, and France got off the mark after 15 minutes – nailing a penalty themselves.
Guscott scored England’s first try, receiving the ball from Will Carling, he accelerated into the line broke through a gap, weaving inside then out, he fixed the final defender before firing a pass across to Rory Underwood who dotted down to increase the lead to 10-3. But another France penalty made it 10-6 at half-time.
A France try in the second half levelled the scores, but ill-discipline allowed Webb another three points, and a last minute Will Carling try sealed a famous victory in Paris.
