England resort to dangerous and highly illegal tactic to stop France… and fail
Nothing quite summed up how desperate and lacklustre England’s performance against France in the Guinness Six Nations at Twickenham was than lock Thibaud Flament’s second try.
The lock was on hand to receive a pat down from fly-half Romain Ntamack following a chip from Antoine Dupont in a try that embodied the gulf in desire between the two sides. England sauntered back to chase Dupont’s kick, and it was no surprise therefore that Ntamack and Flament were the first two players to receive the ball and punish England.
Such was France’s irrepressible desire that winger Max Malins brazenly attempted to trip up the lock to prevent him from scoring… and still failed. The Saracen clearly put out his left leg to stop the Toulouse lock, but it barely made any impact as he powered over.
Take a look at the attempted trip in Flament’s try:
Flament at the double! 🇫🇷
France extend their lead at Twickenham.#ITVRugby | #GuinessSixNations pic.twitter.com/6FbBQbJpQ3
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) March 11, 2023
ENGLAND XV
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 20 caps)
14. Max Malins (Saracens, 17 caps)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 54 caps)
12. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 10 caps)
11. Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers, 53 caps)
10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 20 caps)
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (C) (Bristol Bears, 46 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 75 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 59 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 65 caps)
5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 8 caps)
6. Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 17 caps)
7. Jack Willis (Toulouse, 8 caps)
8. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 12 caps)
REPLACEMENTS
16. Jack Walker (Harlequins, 2 caps)
17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 77 caps)
18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 98 caps)
19. David Ribbans (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
20. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 3 caps)
21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
22. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 104 caps)
23. Henry Arundell (London Irish, 5 caps)
France XV
15. Thomas Ramos
14. Damian Penaud
13. Gael Fickou
12. Jonathan Danty
11. Ethan Dumortier
10. Romain Ntamack
9. Antoine Dupont
1. Cyril Baille
2. Julien Marchand
3. Dorian Aldegheri
4. Thibaud Flament
5. Paul Willemse
6. Francois Cros
7. Charles Ollivon
8. Gregory Alldritt
Replacements
16. Peato Mauvaka
17. Reda Wardi
18. Sipili Falatea
19. Romain Taofifenua
20. Sekou Macalou
21. Maxime Lucu
22. Yoram Moefana
23. Melvyn Jaminet
