In the end, they could not even come away with the win. On a thoroughly muted afternoon in a stadium barely a third full, an England XV contrived to lose to a France XV even further from full strength than their hosts. Romain Taofifénua crashed over from close range to clinch the match with an equally uninspiring try.
Worse, England will lose the services of a player only just making his comeback from a long absence. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s wild tackle on Antoine Hastoy in the first half earned him a 20-minute red card and with it a likely ban. England’s wing had not been ruled out of contention for the Lions’ trip to Australia, but now even a place on England’s three-match tour of Argentina and US must be in doubt.
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On an unfortunate day for officialdom, France also played 20 minutes reduced to 14, when Cameron Woki was punished for his clear-out on Jamie George midway through the second. Both sides upped their game, scoring a try apiece while at a disadvantage. Their opponents seemed to go flat in response.
By the time Taofifénua scored his try, after some uncomplicated French battering off a penalty kicked to the corner, in the third minute after the clock turned red, France were back to a full complement. They started and finished the contest in the ascendant.Early tries by Nolann le Garrec and Gaëtan Barlot, earned them a 12-0 lead, but England responded with 24 unanswered points, through tries by Tom Willis, Alex Coles, Joe Carpenter and Alex Dombrandt.
England seemed to be cruising on the hour, but France cranked up their big guns. Paul Mallez scored with five minutes remaining in much the same fashion as Taofifénua would – from close range. And so Steve Borthwick had some thinking to do.