FT stats
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Possession: France 49%-51% England
Territory: 43%-57%
Carries: 145-126
Line breaks: 10-7
Turnovers won: 6-7
Penalties conceded: 8-7
Tackles made: 142-164
Tackles missed: 26-28
This summer’s Nations Championship games for these sides
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France:
July 4: New Zealand vs France
July 11: Australia vs France
July 18: Japan vs France
England:
July 4: South Africa vs England
July 11: Fiji vs England
July 18: Argentina vs England
TRY! Ojomoh gets one final score for England
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It will be a disappointing defeat for England but they end with a try. Ford fires a flat pass to send Ojomoh over. A nice finish to a frustrating afternoon. Ford adds the extras.
81 mins: France XV 35 England XV 12
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France illegally collapse the maul so England will have another penalty, which they take quickly.
80 mins: France XV 35 England XV 12
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Caluori takes the restart and is taken out in the air. England will have one final shot to add one more try as they go to the corner.
TRY! Brau-Boirie puts the seal on France win
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France take the quick tap through Jauneau, who then offloads for Brau-Boirie to race clear to score. The easy conversion is added.
78 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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England have a penalty on their own 10-metre line for a dangerous clear-out by France. Ford takes it quickly and passes to Caluori, who is hit hard backwards. The speed of ball though is slow and England’s momentum is stunted before France are awarded a penalty...
76 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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France are in possession on the fringes of the England 22 but the attack is ended by a forward pass.
74 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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One of England’s biggest issues in this second half has been the set-piece. Since both teams emptied the benches, France’s scrum and lineout have dominated.
72 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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England defend the maul well and force France into touch.
70 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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France’s rolling maul advances through the England 22 and now have a penalty advantage. The ball then goes forward so we go back for the penalty.
France go to the corner.
69 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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Another scrum penalty goes France’s way as England’s replacements in the front-row are struggling.
66 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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France’s replacement front-row is getting the better of their English counterparts as they win a scrum penalty.
61 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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England are into the French 22 and Quirke spots a gap around the fringes of the ruck. He is brought down within 10 metres of the French line. England then win a penalty, which they take quickly.
England look destined to score but Janse van Rensburg drops the ball with the line beckoning. He will be kicking himself as that should have been a try.
58 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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That is fantastic from Ford, who spots space in behind and executes a brilliant 50:22.
England work it well from the lineout and then come back down the blindside but Smith and Radwan are not on the same page, with the ball ending up in touch.
55 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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Both front-rows have changed and the French replacements gets the better of this scrum, winning the penalty.
53 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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Caluori is over for England but this try will not stand. The TMO steps in to show a knock-on by Blamire in the build-up. It is a shame for Caluori, who showed plenty of gas to get to the line but the try is rightly chalked off.
51 mins: France XV 28 England XV 12
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France have made a host of changes after that try with Lamothe, Poirot, Guillard and Le Garrec all coming off, the latter getting a standing ovation.
England have made a change at scrum-half as Quirke replaces Randall. There are also a number of other changes for Steve Borthwick’s side, including Janse van Rensburg coming on for his unofficial debut. The front-row has been changed for England.
TRY! Hastoy over for France’s fourth
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France are starting to purr now and are going through the gears. The handling is slick and, moments after Despere is brought down inches shy of the England line, Hastoy scores. He then converts his own try and France’s lead grows out to 16 points.
TRY! Le Garrec extends France’s lead
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That will be a special moment for Le Garrec, who scores at the ground of his hometown club. They attack down their left and seem to have so many numbers. Any number of French players could score as they race down the left wing but it is up to Le Garrec to finish, despite the best efforts of Smith. Hastoy adds the extras.
45 mins: France XV 14 England XV 12
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France make a double change as Montagne and Tixeront come on into the pack. Montagne is appropriately named that as a tighthead prop as he is a unit!
44 mins: France XV 14 England XV 12
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A series of clever, slick offloads take England into the French 22 and then there is a knock-on from Le Garrec to give England the scrum. Without that intervention from Le Garrec, England probably would have scored.
However, England again fail to capitalise on this visit to the 22 as Dan knocks on. To be fair to the Saracens hooker, the pass to him was poor.
Second half
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We are back under way in Vannes, with France taking a two-point advantage into the second half.
Nations Championship fixtures for these sides this summer
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France:
July 4: New Zealand vs France
July 11: Australia vs France
July 18: Japan vs France
England:
July 4: South Africa vs England
July 11: Fiji vs England
July 18: Argentina vs England
Half-time: France XV 14 England XV 12
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That is the final act of the half and France lead by two at the break.
TRY! Smith scores on the stroke of half-time
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The perfect way for England to end the half. It is a first-phase try straight from the scrum and well-timed offloads from Atkinson, Ford and Caluori send Smith free. As he enters the France 22, Smith steps back inside and has the gas to make it to the line. Ford adds the easy extras.
39 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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England will have a scrum inside the final minute of the half near the French 22.
37 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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England make another foray into the France 22 but yet another handling error is costly. Murley, who has been a threat on the left wing, takes England into the 22 but Martin then drops it. England will be annoyed at how many entries into the 22 have not yielded points.
36 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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Caluori is hit back hard off the lineout before France then steal possession and clear. England fail once more to capitalise on an entry into the 22. It was a great hit on Caluori by Matiu.
35 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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England have tried the inside pass on a few occasions now but thus far it has not really worked out.
They win a penalty on the France 10-metre line as the hosts fail to roll away. Ford kicks into the France 22.
31 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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England are on the attack on the fringes of the French 22. Ford decides to put in the crossfield kick and Caluori rises highest above Ambadiang but he cannot keep hold of it and knocks on. Had he gathered it cleanly, Caluori would have scored.
29 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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With Bordeaux unexpectedly not making the Top 14 play-offs, the likes of Moefana and Depoortere are available for the hosts today when you would normally not expect them to be. It was a major shock to see the back-to-back European champions not make the play-offs.
28 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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The opportunity is wasted by England as Randall knocks on into contact.
France clear but back come England through Murley and Smith into the French 22 once more. However, another knock-on is costly as Curry drops it as he is tackled.
27 mins: France XV 14 England XV 5
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England win a penalty on the France 10-metre line for a tackle off the ball. Ford will not go for goal, instead kicking England into the France 22.
TRY! France extend lead through Arfeuil
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France punish Smith for that inaccuracy off the boot. It is a first-phase try from the lineout just outside the England 22 as the ball is shipped into the hands of the backs. It is clever from Moefana, who steps back inside before offloading inside to Arfeuil, who makes the break through the England defensive line at speed. He has the pace to get to the line but he gets injured in the process of scoring the try. He has to be helped off the pitch. Hastoy gets the easy conversion.
20 mins: France XV 7 England XV 5
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England have been guilty a few times of kicking the ball out on the full and they commit that offence once more, this time it is Smith under no real pressure.
15 mins: France XV 7 England XV 5
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That is a big defensive set from England as they hold Falatea up over the line, with Opoku-Fordjour the primary man to do so, and it will be a goal line drop-out.
14 mins: France XV 7 England XV 5
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Le Garrec puts the grubber kick into the England 22 and Ford has to run back after it. The ball does not bounce in his favour and, with both Hastoy and Le Garrec right behind him, Ford has no choice but to take it into touch five metres out.
11 mins: France XV 7 England XV 5
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Ford spots space in behind the French line and puts a grubber kick ahead. Dombrandt and Hill chase after it but Attissogbe does well to get back and mop up the danger before France clear.
TRY! Depoortere strikes for France
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The pressure pays off and this time France do not knock on. The handling is slick and they get quick ball as Bordeaux centre Depoortere scores on his return from injury. Hastoy adds the extras and France take the lead.
8 mins: France XV 0 England XV 5
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Once more, France are knocking on the door inside the England 22...
6 mins: France XV 0 England XV 5
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France should hit back but they knock on right at the England line. England were under the cosh there but the ball is dropped over the line by Capilla.
TRY! Murley gives England perfect start
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England have the first try of the game inside the opening minute. It is a first-phase try from a lineout on halfway as England work it from right to left through the hands of the backs to put it into the hands of Murley, who manages to fend off Attissogbe to score in the corner. Ford cannot add the extras but England have the perfect start.
Janse van Rensburg said his kids would question England call-up
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Now footage has emerged of the player talking on the Maul or Nothing podcast in 2024 when he admitted: “I’d love to play for [my] own country, it means so much more for your kids. They’re proper Afrikaans so if one day if I tell them I played for England they’re going to look at me like ‘Why did you do that?’”
When asked if he would prefer five Springboks caps or 50 England appearances, he replied: “It depends. If the Springboks call-up comes before England, I would never say no, but if the England one is first, I’m going to say yes to that. It depends which one comes first.”
Janse van Rensburg added that if England approached him, “I’ll never say no to it in my life. You’d love to play for your country, where you’re from. But, if they [South Africa] don’t need me, which is fair, I’m not going to say no and let an opportunity pass.”
To read more, click here.
Ford on Janse van Rensburg
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Ford talks about the likely involvement from the bench of South African Benhard Janse van Rensburg:
“Benhard is like an excitable kid. He loves training, loves being around the lads and he has got so much energy in training and around the place as well. He has been a great addition.
“His ball playing is really good. He takes it to the very, very end of just getting hit and he has got the ability to ball play as well. That then makes his carry more effective because you do not know whether he is going to play or not.”
Ford on Itoje
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Tonight’s captain George Ford talks about the absence of regular skipper Maro Itoje:
“Even though Maro is our captain, leadership is always a group effort. Myself, Jamie George... Ollie Chessum has been stepping up brilliantly... Ben Earl; it is never just one guy, it is never just on Maro as the guy at the top.
“A great leadership team shares responsibility, help each other out and bring their different strengths and weaknesses to the party.”
Big night for Caluori
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Noah Caluori starts on the right wing and makes his first senior appearance for England tonight. Although it is not a Test match, it is big moment for the 19-year-old Saracens wing, who has been earning rave reviews all season.
France line-up
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France starting XV: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Christian Ambadiang, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Grégoire Arfeuil, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Nolann Le Garrec; 1 Jefferson Poirot, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 4 Mickaël Guillard (captain), 5 Tom Staniforth, 6 Temo Matiu, 7 Esteban Capilla, 8 Marko Gazzotti.
Replacements: 16 Barnabé Massa, 17 Réda Wardi, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Boris Palu, 20 Killian Tixeront, 21 Baptiste Jauneau, 22 Axel Despérès, 23 Fabien Brau-Boirie.
England line-up
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England starting XV: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 George Ford (captain), 9 Harry Randall; 1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Theo Dan, 3 George Kloska, 4 Charlie Ewels, 5 George Martin, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Alex Dombrandt.
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Beno Obano, 17 Vilikesa Sela, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Jack Kenningham, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23 Adam Radwan.
Borthwick out to banish Six Nations memories
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England kick off their summer of action with an uncapped match against a France XV over in Vannes on Friday evening. Steve Borthwick’s side will be hoping to put the memories of a rough Six Nations earlier this year firmly behind them. Next month they will have games against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in the inaugural Nations Championship.
“We are looking forward to an exciting challenge against a strong French team in what will be a demanding fixture,” head coach Borthwick said. “I am eager to see this group get out there and show what they are capable of. It is a great opportunity to keep developing our game in the lead-up to the forthcoming Nations Championship.”
One man who is not involved is captain Maro Itoje, who is set to be rested this summer, although that could change if there were to be injuries in the second row.
“Maro’s circumstances have been very specific and the right thing to do, in a best-case scenario, would be for him not to be with the England squad this summer,” Borthwick added. “Maro had a period this year where he was injured and had to deal with a personal situation on the back of captaining the Lions.
“What I want to make sure is that it is also the right thing for the team. Clearly, the context is key. There are a number of different factors we take into consideration, one of those being other player availability in the position. Any discussion with a player about missing an opportunity to represent their country is challenging. Maro is fully on board with the plan.”
Players from Northampton and Exeter are not available for this match as they contest the Gallagher Prem final on Saturday. Bristol’s Benhard Janse van Rensburg, who was born in South Africa and played for the Springbok under-20’s in 2016, is eligible to represent England at Test level next month and is available for this game as it is an uncapped game.
France are without players from Toulouse, Montpellier, Racing 92 and Stade Francais, with those four clubs in Top 14 semi-final action this weekend. There are six uncapped players in the French side. After tonight’s game, France will take on New Zealand, Australia and Japan next month.
Kick-off from Vannes is at 5.15pm.