ENGLAND ON ROAD TO REDEMPTION AFTER LATEVICTORY

Maro Itoje crashed over for a late try as England seized a dramatic 23-20 victory over France to begin their Guinness Six Nations redemption process.

Les Blues led 20-16 until the 76th minute when Itoje bulldozed over the whitewash from short range and, with Owen Farrell rifling over the conversion, they had edged the tournament favourites.

It was England’s best performance of the tournament by a distance, full of endeavour and flashes of clinical execution, with Henry Slade and Tom Curry excelling.

Enabling them to go toe-totoe with the favourites – at least initially – was their improved discipline and having given away 41 penalties across the opening three rounds, they escaped the whistle of referee Andrew Brace until the 25th minute.

A week spent addressing their self-destructive streak appeared to have paid off, but it proved a stubborn Achilles heel as old failings re-emerged in a cagey second-half where avoiding mistakes became paramount.

Some of France’s play was irresistible, especially for Damian Penaud’s try, but they also displayed the hard edge needed to take the 108th instalment of ‘Le Crunch’ to the death.

Official man of the match Anthony Watson insisted England have set a new benchmark for themselves in terms of performance.

“We’re very happy to get the win,” said Watson.

“The pressure was what we put on ourselves, certain areas of our games we haven’t been happy with.

“We wanted to put it all together and show what we’re about. I think you could see the togetherness of the squad today.

“We set the benchmark there today, and we’ve got to get better.

“It was a great game to be a part of, and credit to France as well because they played very wel,l too.”