PAUL REES

England picked a team to pull France from one side of the field to the other and so tire them out so that, long before the end ,their physicality would wither and they would collapse like an old beach-front deck-chair.
The plan failed because first France built up an unassailable lead and second because England did not have the forward options on the bench to sustain the onslaught they had prepared for. The result was that Les Bleus scored 26 points after the break, three more than they had managed in their first three matches in the tournament combined.
It made for a chastening ...