Maro Itoje snatches last-gasp victory as England end France’s Grand Slam hopes

Maro Itoje scored with just three minutes to spare as England produced a brilliant finish to defeat France 23-20 at Twickenham and end Les Bleus’ hopes of a Grand Slam.

With England still reeling from their defeat by Wales a fortnight ago, Eddie Jones’ afternoon began as a continuation of that nightmare as Antoine Dupont crossed the line after just 80 seconds.

However, England composed themselves and reacted well with attacking phases, but France’s defence remained firm to hold up the ball over the line.

England started to build into the match with sustained possession which eventually paid off as Henry Slade made a huge break and a few phases later Watson dotted down for England’s first try of the afternoon.

The French were then penalised twice in quick succession and captain Owen Farrell slotted both over to put England ahead for the first time in the game.

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The match continued at a relentless pace as Dupont, from just five metres out, chipped the ball over the heads of the English defence. Jalibert attempted to get a hand to the ball but Slade’s intervention prevented the score.

It wasn’t long until France were once again on the front foot as fast hands and a delayed pass from Jalibert fed Damian Penaud for a brilliant try. With Jalibert’s conversion, France edged ahead.

Soon afterwards, France once again found themselves camped out on England’s try line, but Tom Curry managed to latch onto the ball brilliantly in the ruck to turn it over. It was a sigh of relief and a decisive moment as they restricted the deficit to just four points at the break.

England came out firing in the second half with a huge carry from Jonny May. However, France’s defence remained resolute and Max Malins was penalised for not releasing the ball. From the penalty, France built up another threatening attack but captain Charles Ollivon’s forward pass squandered the opportunity as the game swayed from end to end.

France’s defensive skill, particularly through Romain Taofifenua, continued to reap rewards as they turned the ball over and attacked again. Maro Itoje was pinned in a ruck in front of the posts and Jalibert gratefully slotted home the routine penalty to extend their lead to seven points.

England responded immediately as Ollivon was penalised at the line-out and Farrell reduced the gap to just three. It was France, though, who seized the momentum as the game entered the closing stages and sloppy errors started to see England come unstuck.

But just as the game appeared to be slipping through England’s grasp, they launched a fierce final wave of attacks and Itoje capitalised on a driving maul to bundle over the line. Initially adjudged to have been held up, a lengthy TMO check showed that England’s talisman had grounded the tip of the ball and Farrell’s conversion sealed an emphatic comeback that will help to answer many of their recent critics.

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