Victory in Paris Secures England a First 'Grand Slam' Since 2003
All attentions turned to Paris for the final match of the 2016 Six Nations tournament. After winning their opening two fixtures, France had not been good enough in their next two against Wales and Scotland, and they would need to avoid defeat against England if they had any hopes of avoiding a dismal-looking fifth place finish.
In comparison, England had enjoyed an excellent tournament to date, winning all four of their opening matches, as they looked to put a miserable World Cup campaign behind them. For Eddie Jones, the target at this stage of his tenure was to establish a side that would be seen as the dominant force in European rugby and he was quick to state that this aim could only be achieved by winning the countries’ first Grand Slam since 2003.
As it went, England were narrowly the better side throughout the match and that performance edge was enough for Jones’ side to maintain a lead that was established in the early stages, and ultimately to win a first Grand Slam in 13 years.
England’s discipline might have come into question as they conceded numerous penalties – seven of which France had success from – yet, tries from Danny Care, Dan Cole and Anthony Watson assured the visitors of the win.
Both sides were highly motivated from the start and Maxime Machenaud was first to put points on the board as he successfully converted a penalty that had been awarded against England’s young second-row Maro Itoje.
Just two minutes later – and five minutes into the match – England were level. A high tackle providing Owen Farrell with his first kick of the game.
After replacing Ben Youngs at number nine for the final fixture of the Six Nations, Danny Care began to show his quick-thinking; the scrum-half saw a gap that many would have missed as he collected the ball from a ruck, before then dashing all of 40-yards to score England’s opening try.
That try was converted by Farrell. However, France began to close the deficit when Machenaud added another three points after England’s front-row were penalised at the scrum.
The visitors’ lead was extended as prop Dan Cole showed every bit of his explosive power to force his way through the French defence and over the try line. Another two points were added by Farrell – who found more success from the boot – and the score read 17-6 to England.
Some impressive attacking rugby from France continued as they closed down the English lead once again with two more penalties from Machenaud before Nigel Owens blew his whistle for half-time.
The second period started just as quickly as the first; Machenaud adding his fifth and sixth penalties of the match – either side of Farrell scoring his second – with the half just ten minutes old.
The pivotal moment came five minutes later as Ben Youngs – fresh from replacing Care – showed just how effective he could be as England’s scrum-half; the Leicester Tigers star knocked a perfect grubber kick into the corner and the path of Anthony Watson, who dutifully finished off an exquisite England move with his third try of the tournament.
Farrell was inaccurate on this occasion and when Machenaud proved his reliability from the tee once again, France were just four points away from their opponent’s lead.
Two more penalties decided the tie and both were in favour of the away side. The first was awarded for a clumsy high-tackle on Youngs and the second came with a yellow card for Xavier Chiocci to add to French misery; both kicks were converted successfully by Farrell, as the England centre became the highest point scorer in the competition.
After falling short of the pace set by Ireland and Wales in recent years, that 31-21 victory on French soil was enough to ensure that England would be finishing the 2016 Six Nations at the top of the table, with a Grand Slam to go with it.
For France, the positive start – including a determined win against Ireland – had finished miserably, as Guy Novas’ side could only finish above Italy, who had been below-par once more across the month and a half long tournament.
