By Paul Eddison at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
England captain Maro Itoje paid tribute to his side’s bravery as they snatched a last-gasp victory out of the fire against France thanks to Elliot Daly’s match-winning try.
When Louis Bielle-Biarrey crossed for his second try with five minutes remaining, it seemed as though England would be on the wrong end of yet another heart-breaking defeat.
Instead, England worked their way into position and found a way to get in for a fourth try, with Fin Smith, taking over kicking duties, slotting the conversion to seal a 26-25 victory.
For Itoje, in his first home game since taking over the England captaincy, it was England’s ambition that allowed them to come out on top against a French side who had missed a host of opportunities in the first half.
He said: “It was a blur. For large parts of the game we weren't as accurate as we wanted to be.
"One thing I love is we'll fight for each other, and we are going to believe in each other.
"We were brave - that's the foundation of what we want to be doing going forward.
"I am delighted for this team, for the fans, thanks for staying with us. We are going to build from here."
Smith was making his first start for England, given the fly-half jersey as namesake Marcus Smith shifted to full-back.
He showed no nerves as he pulled the strings in England’s attack, proving particularly effective with club colleagues Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman – setting up the latter for an important try as France threatened to pull away.
But while he appeared as cool as a cucumber, Smith admitted that it had taken him a while to settle into the game.
He said: "We have lost plenty of games and luckily this one went our way. It was far from perfect but that group fought for it.
"We kept giving ourselves another shot and, we got ourselves over the line in the end. Unbelievable atmosphere, I am delighted with that.
“I’m happy with it, I felt like a rabbit in the headlights in the first half.
"But I found my feet in the end, and I am delighted with the win more than anything but this is cool for a first start anyway.
"I think we just really backed ourselves. We knew we couldn't go into our shells.
"We had to keep playing and keep moving the ball.
"The French are an awesome outfit and I felt like they let us off the hook in the first half and we felt like momentum had to come to us at some point."
