LYON, France (Reuters) – France assistant coach Shaun Edwards expressed disappointment in his team’s defensive performance during their narrow 33-31 victory over England on Saturday, calling it the worst in his four years in the job.
The match concluded with Thomas Ramos securing the win for France with a last-minute penalty from the halfway line, moments after England had appeared to secure victory with a try by Tommy Freeman.
Following this result, France sits in second place in the standings with 15 points, behind champions Ireland who have 20 points, and ahead of England in third with 14 points.
“I was very disappointed with our defence, I thought England’s attack was all over us, particularly in our midfield,” Edwards remarked.
“We have a lot of work to do, we shouldn’t have to score 30 points to win a game, even if it’s exciting. On the field we were just missing tackles, not being aggressive enough.”
“There are a lot of tries being scored in modern-day rugby, but I thought today our defence was probably the worst performance we have had since I have been here.”
“But our attack was fantastic, especially our maul, and the future is good.”
The game saw momentum shifts with an early dominance from France before England fought back with two tries by centre Ollie Lawrence. The match seemed to tilt in England’s favor when Freeman scored, only for France to clinch victory through Ramos.
“I am really disappointed for the players, they worked so hard, and for the supporters who were magnificent,” expressed England coach Steve Borthwick.
“I am immensely proud, you can see how the shirt is getting lighter,” he added, mentioning the weight of the England shirt as a challenge for some players.
“Sometimes you have to stay in the fight and we saw that. If we had one more opportunity we could have got that score.”
“With that kind of intensity, we never lose, we just run out of time.”
“We have shown in the last two weeks we are competing with the top four teams again but we don’t want to just compete, we want to win and this is a step in the right direction.”
England captain Jamie George reflected on the match, likening the outcome to their World Cup semi-final defeat against South Africa last year.
“France showed their class, but we found a way back into the game. I am really proud of the boys, it was a great effort.”
“This is a team on an upward curve,” George added, emphasizing the team’s positive trajectory.
“The endeavor to go out there, have a crack and play with a smile on our faces, I thought the boys did that. I have loved the last seven weeks.”
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed Osmond)
