Captain49,914 posts
10 Mar 2018, 22:45
#1
10 Mar 2018, 22:45#1
From Planet Rugby:
Following a 22-16 arm-wrestle of a Six Nations win for France over England, here are our five takeaways from Saturday's fixture in Paris.
Elliot Daly one of few positives for England: Back from injury with no visible rust in his game, the England wing showed his quality again with a classy performance. His assist for Jonny May's try displayed his calmness on the big stage and that followed another string to his bow, that rocket of a left boot sending over a long-range penalty. It's no surprise that Eddie Jones rushed him back into his line-up.
France set-piece a disaster: 54% line-out and 66% scrum success rates are simply not good enough at this, well, any level. It is amazing they won a game with those numbers and it probably illustrates just how little England did with the ball they had from France's mistakes.
Time to move Owen Farrell to 10: Those banging the drum for Farrell to wear the fly-half jersey will no doubt be louder than normal this evening. It was clear that France targeted George Ford in defence, which is not surprising, and that seemed to limit his impact from an attacking sense. With ball in hand he failed to have much impact and, in contrast, when Farrell was moved to 10 late on, England looked much more of a threat, while the Saracens man also seemed to relish the playmaking role. It wouldn't be a shock to see him start there next week.
Penalties killing England: 13 penalties against Scotland, 16 against France; England once again pushed the boundaries too much with their discipline. What will frustrate Eddie Jones is that many were avoidable offences and also when they were in possession, with the breakdown once again a lost battle.
Mathieu Bastareaud shines again: He was outstanding against Italy and followed up that performance with another massive shift for France. We have mentioned a lot recently he looks to have trimmed down and his fitness has also improved, making him a handful against opposition for longer periods and thus causing them greater damage. Credit must also go to centre partner Geoffrey Doumayrou, who is in great form.
