Character Building in Paris - England vs. France

Sunday 2nd February
 
Today in Paris 23 men will wake up and for a split second they will not remember what happened yesterday and then that all-consuming feeling of regret will hit them like a tonne of bricks and they will hurt.

Tête-à-Tête en France © Getty Images

Before the match we all wondered whether France would turn up and it was apparent from the first moments that this year they were going to take things seriously and play some rugby. England on the other hand started tentatively and their rugby had a nervous edge to it which took a good forty five minutes to erase. The French were led throughout by some sublime individual performances, Yannick Nyanga was monstrous, Yoann Huget was a man on a mission and young Gael Fickou took his chance well. It has to be said that if France continue to play at this level throughout the whole tournament then all those that follow the ‘it is always France’s year after a Lions tour’ train of thought may well be spot on. 

French Elation in Paris. Photograph: Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images

Turning the spotlight on England a few key questions need to be discussed; did they really not have enough to win that game and, should we, as fans, be worried? 

In my eyes England did have enough to win that game however only if certain players were allowed to remain on the pitch for the full 80 minutes. Stuart Lancaster is the sole individual who will be able to explain why he continued with his pre-planned substitution at scrum half. I understand the need to bring on fresh legs however in my opinion that was the turning point that swung the game back in France’s favour. Danny had a phenomenal day at the office; he was by far England’s most decisive player and his cheeky drop goal on 56 minutes was inspired. Looking at it the other way around you also have to wonder whether Brad Barritt should have come on earlier to add a little more dynamism and go forward as Billy Twelvetrees again struggled to make metres and really punch through the French defensive line.

 

The hugely impactful DC © Getty Images

Should we be worried? Well ultimately no; England showed a huge amount of resilience and character to come back from 16-3 down… in days gone by that match would have been dead and buried. Debutants Jack Nowell and Luther Burrell certainly stepped up; their performances many not have been perfect however both showed intent and made things happen. Elsewhere Billy Vunipola was outstanding... his stats show his tremendous contribution to the match 63m from 17 carries and Mike Brown was his usual competitive self, he provided us with a try, solidity under the high ball and arguably the funniest moment of the match when he was told off by referee Nigel Owens. At the end of the day, England should have won in Paris and whilst England are by no means the finished article you have to admit that the French were fortunate to win this one.

The journey back on the Eurostar will be a quiet one… individual players will be replaying in their head things that they could have done differently and potentially the coaching staff too, however with a five day turnaround the grieving period for this loss needs to be intense but short. Next weekend Scotland will pose a whole host of new challenges and England need to re-group quickly and focus in order be successful at Murrayfield.