England XV well beaten by France in summer warm-up
England faced France in a non-Test summer warm-up match in Vannes, where a France XV demonstrated superior skill and depth to secure a comfortable victory. This match followed a similar fixture last year at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium, where England lost narrowly 26-24.
Tries for France were scored by Depoortere, Arfeuil, Le Garrec, Hastoy, and Brau-Boirie, with conversions by Hastoy (4) and Desperes. England's tries came from Murley, M Smith, and Ojomoh, with Ford converting two.
England started strongly with a well-executed try by Cadan Murley in the opening minute. However, France quickly gained control with their fast-paced handling game. At halftime, France led by two points. Early in the second half, two outstanding tries within five minutes, combined with England's weakening set-piece in the final quarter, sealed the outcome in France's favor.
Both teams were missing key players due to domestic play-offs; England lacked Northampton and Exeter stars ahead of their Premiership final, while France retained internationals from Toulouse, Racing 92, Stade Francais, and Montpellier preparing for the Top 14 semi-finals. Nevertheless, France fielded seven starters from European champions Bordeaux-Begles, which contributed to their cohesion.
England coach Steve Borthwick noted positives from the performances of wings Noah Caluori and Murley, the energy of Ted Hill in the forwards, and an enterprising appearance from replacement scrum-half Raffi Quirke. South African-born Bristol centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg came off the bench and nearly scored, but spilled the ball over the line after a strong run from inside centre.
England's summer schedule continues with a challenging Nations Championship opener against South Africa in Johannesburg on 4 July, followed by matches against Fiji and Argentina on subsequent weekends.
England strike first, but France run out convincing winners
Murley made 124 metres with the ball in hand, including a try-scoring break in the opening minute.
England’s opening attack produced a sublime try for Murley. Seb Atkinson made a strong run and delivered a pass, with Harry Randall and Noah Caluori executing precise work to transfer the ball wide. Murley held off cover defender Theo Attisogbe to score in the corner, with the try coming inside 50 seconds.
France then gained control for much of the remainder of the first half. England hooker Theo Dan prevented a try by Esteban Capilla by ripping the ball loose over the tryline. Nicolas Depoortere, returning from a shoulder injury sustained during the Six Nations defeat by Scotland in March, scored on eight minutes. Gregoire Arfeuil followed with a try after receiving a neat inside pass from Yoram Moefana, giving France a 14-5 lead.
England’s efforts to respond were hampered by handling errors from a makeshift side missing key players such as Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, Ollie Chessum, Ben Spencer, and Joe Heyes in their first match of the summer. Despite this, promising combinations emerged between Max Ojomoh and Murley in wide channels, and full-back Marcus Smith linked well with fly-half George Ford, who occasionally took on first receiver duties.
Just before halftime, England executed another first-phase strike move with Caluori coming in off his wing to create space for Smith. Smith stepped off his left foot, evading the cover defense, and scored under the posts, reducing the deficit to 14-12 at the break.
After the interval, France’s determination and willingness to run the ball from deep paid dividends. Scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec, playing at his boyhood club, scored a popular try. Antoine Hastoy then crossed the line after another sweeping move that England could not contain.
England had a try disallowed when Caluori knocked on, but they struggled to gain momentum as their set-piece faltered. A defensive lapse allowed Baptiste Jauneau to tap and go through the center of England’s defense, setting up replacement Fabien Brau-Boirie for a try under the posts, extending France’s lead to 33-12 with two minutes remaining.
England responded late with Ojomoh scoring from a smart, flat pass from captain Ford in the final play, but it was insufficient to change the outcome.
Teams
France: Attissogbe; Ambadiang, Depoortere, Moefana, Arfeuil; Hastoy, Le Garrec; Poirot, Lamothe, Falatea, Guillard (c), Staniforth, Matiu, Capilla, Gazzotti
Replacements: Massa, Wardi, Montagne, Palu, Tixeront, Jauneau, Desperes, Brau-Boirie
England XV: M Smith; Caluori, Ojomoh, S Atkinson, Murley; Ford, Randall; Opoku-Fordjour, Dan, Kloska, Ewels, Martin, Hill, Curry, Dombrandt
Replacements: Blamire, Obano, Sela, Isiekwe, Kenningham, Quirke, Janse van Rensburg, Radwan
