France v England

:00:52. > :00:58.England have become the first host nation in the history of the World

:00:59. > :01:02.Cup to exit in the group stages. We want to have that bulldog spirit in

:01:03. > :01:08.our game. # Oh, you better run, oh, you better

:01:09. > :01:12.run # You better run

:01:13. > :01:59.# You better run... You can be a 11 day and an angel the

:02:00. > :02:02.next. Well, reinvention, restoration, whatever word, tonight

:02:03. > :02:06.is a defining match for the reputation of English rugby,

:02:07. > :02:16.ridiculed six months ago after the premature World Cup exit, but now

:02:17. > :02:22.18... The last time that France provided the grand opposition was in

:02:23. > :02:26.1991 and, if you are after an omen, England were victorious. Whatever

:02:27. > :02:31.happens tonight, England will be the Six Nations champions and Wales will

:02:32. > :02:36.finish in second place after the two matches that have taken place today.

:02:37. > :02:40.If you may recall from last weekend, which was that points fest, the

:02:41. > :02:45.first two matches of the final weekend last year, they produce 131

:02:46. > :02:52.points. The first two matches today have produced 141. What price 100

:02:53. > :02:57.points in this final match? Answer, a very long one. Six times in the

:02:58. > :03:01.last 20 years, England have had a grand slam opportunity. On five

:03:02. > :03:05.occasions, they fell at the final fence. The one time they didn't,

:03:06. > :03:10.Mike Tindall was an integral part of the site in 2003. He is here to

:03:11. > :03:15.reflect on what -- on what might happen. There was pressure in that

:03:16. > :03:21.match in Dublin in 2003 but you played as if there wasn't and you

:03:22. > :03:25.won in a grand manner. It started off with how the game started with

:03:26. > :03:32.the line-up for the anthems. It just went from there. We suffered defeats

:03:33. > :03:37.along the way, in terms of 2000 and 2001 in Ireland, 2002 in Ireland,

:03:38. > :03:42.losing Grand Slams. We had had the pressure, we knew what it was like

:03:43. > :03:45.and it was a different atmosphere in 2003. The confidence we had going

:03:46. > :03:50.into that game and we have managed to put our game on the paddock. How

:03:51. > :03:57.confident do you think England are Western rock I think there is a good

:03:58. > :04:02.bars in the squad. They have been after something tangible. They have

:04:03. > :04:05.got the trophy. They need to do it in style. The way they have attacked

:04:06. > :04:12.has impressed me the way they have made their tries. Intuitive rugby.

:04:13. > :04:15.In terms of the French, nick Easter wrote an interesting piece today

:04:16. > :04:18.saying that he thought England would win not just because they were

:04:19. > :04:24.better but because it was the worst French team he had seen. England is

:04:25. > :04:30.the best team, but what better motivation than playing England it

:04:31. > :04:37.is now or never for them. Let's reflect on the French team. We last

:04:38. > :04:46.saw them six days ago at Murrayfield. They went down to

:04:47. > :04:50.Scotland. The hardest thing in the Six Nations, working out France.

:04:51. > :04:55.With single-handed grace, they can cut the best into tartan ribbons.

:04:56. > :05:01.But they remain a mystery to themselves and Scotland were never

:05:02. > :05:04.going to make this easy for them. Scotland, fed up with not

:05:05. > :05:12.delivering, hard on themselves, no excuses, deliver. France, stay calm,

:05:13. > :05:18.relaxed, take it easy, not that easy. Too easy for drunken sailor.

:05:19. > :05:24.It wasn't the end. Win here and France were still in the title

:05:25. > :05:36.chase. The skill of the day would hand the title to England. England

:05:37. > :05:42.watching in their easy chairs. The old cliche has long been consigned

:05:43. > :05:48.to the history box. Defeat would mean they finished in the bottom

:05:49. > :05:53.half of the table in the 15th consecutive year, almost

:05:54. > :06:00.unfathomable. France will be desperate to avoid a third defeat.

:06:01. > :06:10.Are you confident you can do that and spoil England's evening? We need

:06:11. > :06:13.a good start. A good start for us would be three home victories. We

:06:14. > :06:17.know it is a big challenge because England is the favourite of the

:06:18. > :06:22.game. But we have to believe in our skills. And we have to believe in

:06:23. > :06:28.our history. This young squad needs to be the best, to create the only

:06:29. > :06:32.story. Eddie Jones said this week that England are a better team than

:06:33. > :06:40.France and that England will win the grand slam. At that filtered through

:06:41. > :06:44.to the French players? A rugby game is a special mystery, 15 men against

:06:45. > :06:52.15 men, and sometimes the best team doesn't win. We will see. Thank you.

:06:53. > :06:55.Unusually, for the last few years, we can talk about consistency for

:06:56. > :07:00.the French, because the backline is unchanged, but their right to

:07:01. > :07:06.significant changes in the backline. The back line is important. The loss

:07:07. > :07:15.of a player at the start of the season was a blow for them. We don't

:07:16. > :07:22.have the likes of other players. So Loann Goujon brings some power. We

:07:23. > :07:27.need much more power and charisma. Damien Chouly is the leader of the

:07:28. > :07:33.line-out, but these guys need to deliver. This vote of confidence in

:07:34. > :07:43.the back division, unchanged from Murrayfield last weekend, what about

:07:44. > :07:48.where some players are playing was not it is the same today. Wesley

:07:49. > :07:53.Fofana was injured at the start of the competition. He might be our

:07:54. > :07:57.best player at the backline. You can see that. He is on the wing. Every

:07:58. > :08:03.time he gets the ball, he is a threat. He can really break the

:08:04. > :08:07.lines. Even then, from very deep, he is the kind of guy who can choose to

:08:08. > :08:13.go into the defence. He has the legs to make some breaks. He has the

:08:14. > :08:16.power. He is a massive chance for France. Putting him on the wing, it

:08:17. > :08:26.is not his ideal position. He needs to have his hand on the

:08:27. > :08:31.ball. He's one of these guys who's unique. He's so balanced. With that

:08:32. > :08:35.massive amount of power. He's able to just leave people on the stop and

:08:36. > :08:39.go. You want him finding the mismatches. Sometimes you can get,

:08:40. > :08:44.if you're not a winger, you can be isolated out there. He's got to find

:08:45. > :08:47.that. Somebody who could be the most influential person on the pitch

:08:48. > :08:54.tonight is the referee, who by common consent is the best in the

:08:55. > :09:00.world. Interesting piece in the paper this morning, Jonathan Capland

:09:01. > :09:03.says he feels Nigel Owens has to make a philosophical decision before

:09:04. > :09:07.the game about what kind of a game we're going to get tonight. I don't

:09:08. > :09:12.think Nigel will be sucked into that. He's freelance. He's open. He

:09:13. > :09:15.goes with the flow. He looks at the game, how it's being played. He

:09:16. > :09:19.doesn't want to blow his whistle. That's the last thing he'll want to

:09:20. > :09:23.do. He wants to create entertainment and for the players to play decent

:09:24. > :09:33.rugby. He generally allows that to happen. There is a big file on

:09:34. > :09:36.referees. You have all the stats, what they're looking for. There's a

:09:37. > :09:40.reason for that. They are that influential. Nigel Owens wants to

:09:41. > :09:45.see an open game. He normally doesn't ref. He's not as stringent

:09:46. > :09:49.at the break down. Whether he'll did that and people push the boundary on

:09:50. > :09:54.that, because they know they're not going to give away penalties. That

:09:55. > :09:59.might be concern for us. Maybe we didn't turn in the proper way. We

:10:00. > :10:03.played the old rugby. Maybe we didn't change. Because the rules

:10:04. > :10:08.have changed, maybe the referee change too, we didn't adapt. You're

:10:09. > :10:14.part of the commentary team tonight Mike. Do you make the journey there

:10:15. > :10:19.in hope or expectation? If I'm brutally honest, expectation. I

:10:20. > :10:23.think the control that England show throughout the tournament and just

:10:24. > :10:29.the way they've, sort of, I don't think it's a B plus, but it's been

:10:30. > :10:35.comfortable. I expect them today, dangerous to say in Paris, because

:10:36. > :10:41.I've lost here... A few times. It can be a big railroad to smash into.

:10:42. > :10:45.I still think they should walk away with the Grand Slam. We are in

:10:46. > :10:50.Paris. Who is the best rugby player in Paris? He's not French. He's from

:10:51. > :10:53.New Zealand. He's Dan Carter, the greatest player in the world, after

:10:54. > :10:56.leading New Zealand to another World Cup in the Autumn is making his way

:10:57. > :10:59.here, loving living here and playing here. He met Jerry a couple of days

:11:00. > :11:15.ago. Hi, Dan. Good to meet the great man.

:11:16. > :11:19.It has been a while since you won the second World Cup. Have you had

:11:20. > :11:24.time to reflect? It has been the end of an era. We had just achieved

:11:25. > :11:29.something special. It means a lot more, that moment in the changing

:11:30. > :11:33.room for two or three after us succeeding our goal was some of the

:11:34. > :11:39.most special times of being a rugby player. I guess you had a few

:11:40. > :11:46.choices when you decided to hang up your black boots. What made you

:11:47. > :11:50.choose France and Paris? Paris is completely opposite to New Zealand.

:11:51. > :11:55.New Zealand is rugby mad. On the streets of Paris, nobody knows who I

:11:56. > :12:00.am. That is quite refreshing. Is that what you have been getting up

:12:01. > :12:05.to? You don't have to talk about rugby every minute of the day, which

:12:06. > :12:10.can be the case living in New Zealand. There is plenty of banter.

:12:11. > :12:15.Being the new kid on the team, it was nice to have somebody like Mike

:12:16. > :12:18.Phillips on the team, an easy target, not the sharpest guy.

:12:19. > :12:26.Regular banter with him without him noticing. How do you assess the

:12:27. > :12:29.talent pool in France? The initial site programme went through a

:12:30. > :12:35.development phase, but the talent is there. I think it needs to be

:12:36. > :12:41.nurtured. I don't think they are a team that is going to die away. They

:12:42. > :12:44.are an emotional side. They try and flick the switch, pushing the

:12:45. > :12:50.emotional button. Sometimes, if that doesn't work, they don't have an

:12:51. > :12:56.answer. As a French team, how would you try and beat England? To attack

:12:57. > :13:00.England, you have to destroy their set piece, the scrum and line-out.

:13:01. > :13:06.If they have no ball to play with at set piece time, the game won't flow

:13:07. > :13:11.and it will turn into a tough wrestle. I think England will get

:13:12. > :13:16.the grand slam. I think they have bounced back the best out of the

:13:17. > :13:19.northern hemisphere sides. We have seen that throughout the Six

:13:20. > :13:25.Nations, where it looks like England are playing with confidence. England

:13:26. > :13:28.will have to play poorly to lose this game. Interesting thoughts from

:13:29. > :13:34.a giant southern hemisphere rugby. We have swapped one Mike for another

:13:35. > :13:45.one. The Australian mastermind for their path last year. You are here

:13:46. > :13:52.today, but what is your take on the Six Nations? The Six Nations after a

:13:53. > :13:59.World Cup is interesting, because like Dan Carter was saying, the way

:14:00. > :14:07.that teams bounce back. England have had... Any type of managerial change

:14:08. > :14:10.leads to a new enthusiasm. From a French perspective, you have

:14:11. > :14:14.experience here as a coach and a player. When you were playing here,

:14:15. > :14:17.the national team was the sum of its parts but now it seems to be

:14:18. > :14:25.considerably less. Could you explain? I don't know if I can. But

:14:26. > :14:28.what I do know is that the French have always had a very clear idea

:14:29. > :14:34.about the way they play the game, and I think that they are searching

:14:35. > :14:39.to go back to that and it's going to take some time with one of the

:14:40. > :14:44.greats of coaching in this country to get them back there. If they

:14:45. > :14:48.search for this idea of playing running rugby and taking a chance,

:14:49. > :14:53.they will be fine. I don't know if the phone call ever went your way,

:14:54. > :14:58.but what do you make of your fellow countrymen managing England? We are

:14:59. > :15:02.very proud of him. He has been brought up in the Australian system

:15:03. > :15:06.and he has learnt his coaching ground there. Now he is coaching one

:15:07. > :15:11.of the biggest teams in the world and is doing well. As much as they

:15:12. > :15:15.are our enemy, we are proud of Eddie, because he is being

:15:16. > :15:20.successful overseas. We started by talking about the Six Nations. There

:15:21. > :15:23.is a perception that it is more attritional than rugby in the

:15:24. > :15:31.southern hemisphere. At an urban myth or is there fundamentally a

:15:32. > :15:35.different generic approach? I think culturally there is a different

:15:36. > :15:39.approach. Climatically, the conditions are more difficult. Even

:15:40. > :15:49.if it is dry but cold, it is hard to open it up sometimes. I think there

:15:50. > :15:54.is also... In the southern hemisphere, we might get kicked off

:15:55. > :15:57.a little bit by our supporters. There are different cultural issues

:15:58. > :16:01.and that is how it should be. I don't like everybody to play the

:16:02. > :16:06.same. It was interesting at Twickenham last week. England in

:16:07. > :16:12.complete control until the last few minutes and then hanging on grimly.

:16:13. > :16:20.What is it like to be new to be Six Nations? Our first taste of an

:16:21. > :16:28.ancient rivalry? Easy. If ever a player made light of the streams of

:16:29. > :16:33.aids showdown, it was Maro Itoje. England were wrapping up the points.

:16:34. > :16:44.Who would have said it could be this easy? This hard for Wales. But the

:16:45. > :16:51.Six Nations doesn't do easy. Even when England's numbers went up, they

:16:52. > :16:59.also went down to 14, and Wales came to life. Suddenly, it was anything

:17:00. > :17:05.but easy. And it was growing more difficult with each charge. With

:17:06. > :17:13.every passing minute. And, who knows... Being a touch judge is

:17:14. > :17:15.never easy. What is it like to be new to the Six Nations? That is

:17:16. > :17:26.easy. It's good. A big night for English rugby.

:17:27. > :17:30.Everybody at ease in the England camp or a few nerves? There is a bit

:17:31. > :17:35.of nerves but that is natural. As long as we concentrate on the

:17:36. > :17:39.fundamentals we will be OK. You have gone for Danny Care over Ben Youngs

:17:40. > :17:45.at scrum-half. What does that say about how you will approach the

:17:46. > :17:50.game? We want to take the game to France. The beginning of the game is

:17:51. > :17:54.always important in a Test match. Danny gives us that place at the

:17:55. > :17:59.start. France will be highly motivated. Our England mentally

:18:00. > :18:05.tough enough to handle the occasion, being away from home with the grand

:18:06. > :18:09.slam at stake? If we want to be grand slam champion is, we have to

:18:10. > :18:12.be. We are capable. You never know until you get out there but the

:18:13. > :18:19.preparation suggest everything is right. Good luck.

:18:20. > :18:24.For those of you who like this kind of thing, England's first ever Grand

:18:25. > :18:31.Slam was in 1913 and they have been 11 cents, three in the early 90s.

:18:32. > :18:37.Since then, just the one. -- there have been 19 -- there have been 11

:18:38. > :18:43.since then. We have been a good team but we

:18:44. > :18:46.couldn't nail the grand slam. In 2003, going to Ireland, I didn't

:18:47. > :18:52.remember it. There is no way to go if you lose. If we lost another one,

:18:53. > :18:58.the vibe around the team would have been such that you can't win here.

:18:59. > :19:08.You choke it. Martin Johnson, the brooding menace. We warmed up, lined

:19:09. > :19:13.up at that end and we wanted to crack on with the game. This guy

:19:14. > :19:17.came out and said, move down there. I said, no, I'm not moving anywhere.

:19:18. > :19:26.The crowd were going crazy and there was a huge stand-off. Protocol has

:19:27. > :19:28.been ripped up. The myth is that we made her walk on the grass. We

:19:29. > :19:40.didn't. The grand slam showdown is about to

:19:41. > :19:46.begin. A have an atmosphere but we had a good vibe in the team. We had

:19:47. > :19:56.to battle for Britain. We put them away.

:19:57. > :20:06.England deserved that try. England surged to the line. The Trai has

:20:07. > :20:17.been given. -- the try has been given. What a performance from

:20:18. > :20:23.England! The grand slam. A massive relief to have won the grand slam.

:20:24. > :20:25.It didn't feel like an end. It felt like a stepping stone because the

:20:26. > :20:37.World Cup was coming. To relive that match and many other

:20:38. > :20:43.great Six Nations moments, there is a documentary available on the BBC I

:20:44. > :20:48.player. From one great to another one who would can't call that yet,

:20:49. > :20:53.but who knows for the future, Maro Itoje had an extraordinary match

:20:54. > :20:58.last weekend. He has had a wonderful season. He broke in last season and

:20:59. > :21:01.he has taken to international rugby like at every level, through the

:21:02. > :21:08.England age groups, with Saracens, and now with England. His stats are

:21:09. > :21:10.great. He has only played two full games and he is matching everybody

:21:11. > :21:17.in every dimension. Skill set is wonderful. I like his mind. The

:21:18. > :21:20.difference sometimes is how clever people are, how they assess

:21:21. > :21:25.situations. Everything he seems to do, you make the right decision. He

:21:26. > :21:31.is on the edge and sometimes he gets it right. The majority of the time,

:21:32. > :21:37.you get it right. Six foot five, 18 stone, getting down there, making

:21:38. > :21:43.the tackle. Look, he swoops down like a bird of prey. He smells it,

:21:44. > :21:50.he sniffs it, he sees it, and he attacked it. He is a bit of a

:21:51. > :21:58.nuisance. He can also play that way. You get in front clever and quick,

:21:59. > :22:02.and agile. That is a great bonus in the second round. He is thinking

:22:03. > :22:07.what is going to happen before it happens. One of the big things is

:22:08. > :22:12.not to put too much pressure on him too early. Let him play his footy,

:22:13. > :22:18.he was enjoying it. He is certainly doing that so far. Five years ago, I

:22:19. > :22:28.was told this guy would be one of the great guise of England. He was

:22:29. > :22:34.right. This guy is really special. The magic is he is 21. We make

:22:35. > :22:38.comparisons to Martin Johnson, Paul O'Connell. It is incredible, but we

:22:39. > :22:47.can't put him up there with those guys. Let's see the Maro Itoje way

:22:48. > :22:52.and let him enjoy it. So what about the front row today? A key selection

:22:53. > :22:58.decision has been to pick Vunipola instead of Joe Marler. Do you think

:22:59. > :23:02.Joe Marler should have been banned? There was no doubt in my mind. I

:23:03. > :23:11.should have done it quickly. It affects wider communities. It is the

:23:12. > :23:15.mark -- it is the wider community. It means that Vunipola starts

:23:16. > :23:23.tonight. How does that change the front row? Eddie wants to play a

:23:24. > :23:31.quick game. He has got Danny Care in there at the front. Vunipola is

:23:32. > :23:37.quicker than Joe Marler. I think the scrum will be a key encounter. If

:23:38. > :23:42.France can get something in that, it will give them some self police to

:23:43. > :23:47.play some footy. We mustn't forget that last week against Scotland the

:23:48. > :23:53.first scrum was after 20 minutes. The power of the French team isn't

:23:54. > :23:57.as relevant any more. If the game is about pace, as Eddie Jones says, how

:23:58. > :24:08.significant is the selection of Danny Care? Degassed to snap and

:24:09. > :24:13.crackle. Harlequins have got it to their best this season. -- he has

:24:14. > :24:17.got to snap and crackle. He has been criticised for his kicking, but he

:24:18. > :24:22.sorted that out. His passing has got better. He is making great

:24:23. > :24:27.decisions. Eddie is giving everybody a chance. They are all starting to

:24:28. > :24:31.believe they can start for the team. Danny Care and Ben Youngs are both

:24:32. > :24:40.great players. It gives them believe. A lot of pundits are saying

:24:41. > :24:46.that a key area is that the French team are not as fit as their English

:24:47. > :24:50.counterparts. By having Danny Care from the word go, it will run the

:24:51. > :24:57.French off their feet and they will run out of gas. They will try and do

:24:58. > :25:02.it. We will try and avoid it. Two years ago, you were confident and

:25:03. > :25:13.there was a try. It went France's way. When you play against England,

:25:14. > :25:19.you find some spirit in your body. There are two kind of fitness. The

:25:20. > :25:23.physical and the mental. They will put pressure on you. If the crowd

:25:24. > :25:32.get into it, it is another kind of fitness. I don't think England are

:25:33. > :25:37.overconfident. They have won the championship already. I think they

:25:38. > :25:40.are ready. There are a lot of players in the England side who

:25:41. > :25:45.haven't experienced heartbreak of having a Grand Slam and then having

:25:46. > :25:46.snatched from their fingers. They will be determined to make sure it

:25:47. > :26:05.doesn't happen tonight. England looking for the grand slam.

:26:06. > :26:12.Wales with a chance to take the title.

:26:13. > :26:16.# You can run on for a long time Doctor Who it could have been a

:26:17. > :26:26.grand slam generation. It is drifting away. Wales 30, England 3.

:26:27. > :26:39.You don't want to experience those sorts of feelings.

:26:40. > :26:46.Failure, sit back, the key ingredient of success further down

:26:47. > :26:53.the line. We are not talking about past failure. We are talking about

:26:54. > :26:59.what we are going to do. I think we have answered a lot of our critics

:27:00. > :27:04.as a team. We are starting to believe in ourselves. If we don't

:27:05. > :27:10.keep improving, we are going to repeat history, not create new the

:27:11. > :27:16.story. Eddie Jones, his team on track for the grand slam. We haven't

:27:17. > :27:21.won the grand slam in 13 years. We want to be the best in the world.

:27:22. > :27:30.The true test of each of our goals is is beating France. A wonderful

:27:31. > :27:35.opportunity. We have won four games in a row. We want to win five. The

:27:36. > :27:45.goal was to be the most dominant team. We are one game away from

:27:46. > :27:48.achieving it. Are England going to win the grand slam? We are going to

:27:49. > :27:59.win the grand slam. Supreme confidence from Eddie Jones.

:28:00. > :28:06.Last weekend, when we were up at Murrayfield and we spoke to Eddie

:28:07. > :28:09.off the back of France having been beaten, so England being champions,

:28:10. > :28:12.in saying, Jerry, we are going to go to the bar and have a drink and then

:28:13. > :28:16.we are going to move on because the job is by no means done. That is

:28:17. > :28:22.perhaps a reflection of how England sees the road ahead. I think that

:28:23. > :28:26.shows how experienced Eddie is as a coach. He has old values of rugby,

:28:27. > :28:31.because there were a few beers sunk when he was a player. He has told

:28:32. > :28:37.the players to have a mini celebration but, hey, what about a

:28:38. > :28:40.big one next week? Take the time to acknowledge you have done something

:28:41. > :28:46.and your country will be proud of you for winning that trophy. He will

:28:47. > :28:51.be watching how much they drink, half a glass, stop right there! But

:28:52. > :28:57.it takes the pressure of the players. Only men will win here, not

:28:58. > :29:01.boys. I came over on the Eurostar with trains packed to the gunwales

:29:02. > :29:05.with England fans. There must be up to 20,000 it today. A lot of them

:29:06. > :29:09.have been to a lot of grand slam banalities and been disappointed on

:29:10. > :29:16.many occasions, but they seem resolute. -- grand slam finals. From

:29:17. > :29:21.a French pride point of view, you would love to spoil the party

:29:22. > :29:27.delight wouldn't you? Oh, yes, but England will play at their level. We

:29:28. > :29:32.need to increase our level and show we can be competitive. Just a win

:29:33. > :29:39.today would be a grand slam for us. It would mean a lot. We can see the

:29:40. > :29:44.England players. There match shirts tonight will have a poppy on it to

:29:45. > :29:47.commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle of the song. I had a

:29:48. > :29:54.letter this week from Catherine Davis about her great-grandfather,

:29:55. > :30:00.Lancelot slow clock, who captained England but lost his life like so

:30:01. > :30:03.many 100 years ago at that battle. She says, please mention him and all

:30:04. > :30:09.the other rugby internationals lost their lives. 100 years on, it is

:30:10. > :30:17.just a rugby match, but a very big one. Key moment in the mental

:30:18. > :30:23.battle. How people feel about the confrontation ahead.

:30:24. > :30:29.Youngs, Huge atmosphere, the count down you can hear. Here come the

:30:30. > :30:34.players for the final match of the RBS Six Nations championship of

:30:35. > :30:38.2016. England are the champions, but are they going to be Grand Slam

:30:39. > :30:42.winners too? What's your instinct about the outcome here? I feel we

:30:43. > :30:48.can do it. I say that since the start of the tournament, that

:30:49. > :30:54.beating England will mean a lot today. The crowd are cheering for

:30:55. > :30:58.the French team. Don't divert from your plan, don't do crazy, wild,

:30:59. > :31:04.playing out their own 22. They'll win. It's tempting fate on Parisian

:31:05. > :31:08.soil but England will win. Eddie Jones said this week, I believe, I

:31:09. > :31:11.firmly believe that England are the best team in this competition and if

:31:12. > :31:15.you want to be the best, you've got to think you're the best and you've

:31:16. > :31:20.got to go out and prove you're the best. Tonight is the acid test for

:31:21. > :31:28.this England's team's self-belief. The anthems shortly and after that

:31:29. > :31:44.commentary from Mike Tindall Brian Moore and Eddie Butler.

:31:45. > :31:52.# God save our gracious Queen Long live our noble Queen

:31:53. > :32:45.# Allons enfants de la Patrie Le jour de gloire est arrive

:32:46. > :32:53.# Contre nous de la tyrannie, L'etendard sanglant est leve

:32:54. > :33:08.# Entendez-vous dans les campagnes Mugir ces feroces soldats

:33:09. > :33:17.# Aux armes, citoyens Formez vos bataillons

:33:18. > :33:54.COMMENTATOR: Good evening, welcome to the Stade de France. How quickly

:33:55. > :33:58.England have rebuilt. Two defeats in the space of eight days, six months

:33:59. > :34:05.ago, and they were out of their own World Cup. Four wins over the past

:34:06. > :34:16.six weekends and they stand on the brink of a first Grand Slam since

:34:17. > :34:21.2003. We shall hold a pause in memory of Serge Kampf, patron,

:34:22. > :34:34.sponsor, friend of French rugby for many long years.

:34:35. > :35:17.France have bulked up in the back row. Goujon takes over from Chouly.

:35:18. > :35:24.In comes Bernard Le Roux. Familiar behind the scrum. Can the half-backs

:35:25. > :35:34.form a partnership to bring the best out of an attacking back three? A

:35:35. > :35:38.change in the England front row. Mako Vunipola comes in the England

:35:39. > :35:41.start with the Vunipola brothers, Billy, of course, outstanding

:35:42. > :35:47.throughout the championship. Dylan Hartley, England's captain, goes

:35:48. > :35:53.head to head with Guilhem Guirado. Danny Care starts at number nine to

:35:54. > :36:04.bring high rhythm, high tempo to the England game. We have had a score

:36:05. > :36:09.feast on the final day of the Six Nations so far. These replacements

:36:10. > :36:13.will come on, no doubt, and no doubt, if this game keeps up what

:36:14. > :36:22.we've seen to date, they'll be as exhausted as anybody. Nigel Owens of

:36:23. > :36:26.Wales is tonight's referee. The world's most experienced

:36:27. > :36:28.international referee. Maro Itoje, what an impact he has made on

:36:29. > :36:49.international rugby. France have won their home games,

:36:50. > :36:57.but this is different. England going for the Grand Slam. Mako Vunipola

:36:58. > :37:05.waits. It's a still night. It's a cold night. Not a breath of wind.

:37:06. > :37:10.Here we go, the last round of the Six Nations, the last game of the

:37:11. > :37:17.Six Nations. Penalty advantage being played.

:37:18. > :37:20.Good evening Brian Moore. Good evening. I was going to make the

:37:21. > :37:25.comment that for England the pressure is on, but the important

:37:26. > :37:32.thing is clarity of thought and that is not clear thinking, is it? It's a

:37:33. > :37:36.clear penalty. Unnecessary. I was just going to say, the key for them

:37:37. > :37:40.is to keep their discipline. It's not an easy way to start, giving

:37:41. > :37:47.them easy territory straight into the English half. Great restart from

:37:48. > :38:04.George Ford, perfectly placed but a bit of inaccuracy. Surrounded by

:38:05. > :38:35.England Grand Slam winners, Mike Tindall and Brian Moore.

:38:36. > :39:00.Guilhem Guirado, outstanding as France's hooker and captain.

:39:01. > :39:07.Penalty advantage. Penalty to France.

:39:08. > :39:14.They've compounded that, whether or not Itoje thinks he was on his feet.

:39:15. > :39:17.Nigel Owens disagrees. That's a poor start for England. When the

:39:18. > :39:22.referee's telling you to get off, it doesn't matter. You get off. You do

:39:23. > :39:29.what he tells you. You've seen there actually more purpose in the French

:39:30. > :39:34.attack than I've seen in probably all the games hitherto. The

:39:35. > :39:39.concerted move to move all their backs right, create danger down that

:39:40. > :39:44.and move left is something, it's a fluency they've not shown at all.

:39:45. > :40:02.Obviously, the extra time has allowed them to gel. They've had a

:40:03. > :40:03.decent opening two minutes. France started with Tran-Duc as their place

:40:04. > :40:22.kicker. Early days, but France take the

:40:23. > :40:27.lead. Penalty by their scrum-half. This is one of the things I thought

:40:28. > :40:32.before the game, if England got off to a good start, the French heads

:40:33. > :40:38.might go down. Conversely, if the French go up, the crowd will sustain

:40:39. > :40:44.them. Advantage to England. Head high.

:40:45. > :40:55.That's on Watson. It seems the idiot's gene is contagious. Another

:40:56. > :40:59.unnecessary penalty. That's the danger, especially if you go for a

:41:00. > :41:05.choke tackle. If they're upright you have to get underneath the ball. I

:41:06. > :41:11.won't call anyone an idiot, Brian, that's not the way to be. Not a wise

:41:12. > :41:20.decision. What else do you call that? Pro players know you don't do

:41:21. > :41:23.that. Technically he's under the ball. I think we're getting soft

:41:24. > :42:00.sometimes in this game. We're all square at the Stade de

:42:01. > :42:06.France. Owen Farrell replies with the penalty.

:42:07. > :42:12.Just a general point, I don't think Farrell took too long there. But

:42:13. > :42:16.there's a tendency for all kickers, their routines are getting longer

:42:17. > :42:23.and longer. I think world rugby ought to look at that. (

:42:24. > :42:23.and longer. I think world rugby ought to look at that. Francois

:42:24. > :43:02.Trinh-Duc. I think they passed that too early

:43:03. > :43:07.there from Farrell. He could have gone to the line. One thing you've

:43:08. > :43:09.got to do is to stay in the field of play. He does such a good job

:43:10. > :43:13.skipping out there. You're responsible for that. Good

:43:14. > :43:55.possession down there. The powerhouse Fijian out of play. A

:43:56. > :44:01.glimpse of what France can do. They did fantastically well there

:44:02. > :44:04.considering how static they were. Just showed what Vakatawa can do

:44:05. > :44:09.when given a bit of space. He has the power to skip out. France are

:44:10. > :44:16.playing as well, if not better, than I've seen them in the championship

:44:17. > :44:20.so far. They also managed to make some ground off a maul, it was

:44:21. > :44:23.static when the ball wasn't going forward, which is always more

:44:24. > :44:28.difficult. He's a good player - very, very good player.

:44:29. > :44:33.Interesting to see then, Mike Brown's positioning. He was still

:44:34. > :44:38.deep in the back field. Normally, if you've moved the ball out to the

:44:39. > :44:42.wing, there's a pendulum. So the full-back comes up to meet that. But

:44:43. > :44:44.he was deep. They're relying on the back line drifting to get out to the

:44:45. > :45:36.winger. That's a very good kick down field

:45:37. > :45:40.by Maxine Machenaud. Tremendous recovery from France. That's one of

:45:41. > :45:44.the situations where if England are going to have contentions to take

:45:45. > :45:49.this Grand Slam and to move on, that's the opportunity they need to

:45:50. > :45:54.convert. It's strange to me then. He doesn't look outside to his winger.

:45:55. > :45:57.He's caught the inside trail runner in his eye early on. He has a

:45:58. > :46:38.straight two on one on the outside there. Dylan Hartley.

:46:39. > :46:48.One handed into touch. At the moment, England are on the rack.

:46:49. > :46:53.They're surviving only due to the fact that the French have not been

:46:54. > :46:57.capable of putting away. That should have been a score. Yeah, definitely.

:46:58. > :47:01.It's unlucky. He's just forced it a bit. England are all set up very, I

:47:02. > :47:05.was going to say about the defence, all set up perfectly. It's just at

:47:06. > :47:10.the moment they're slipping off one on one tackles. Spedding did a great

:47:11. > :47:11.job of finding a prop there. It's something they have to get control

:47:12. > :47:36.back in with England. Just got to be careful on the box

:47:37. > :47:40.kicks. They're giving the receiver too much time. When you give

:47:41. > :47:46.Vakatawa that much time, he'll cause problems.

:47:47. > :48:45.Dylan Hartley warned off by Nigel Owens.

:48:46. > :48:56.Slimani penalised. Going straight on the ball not allowing competition

:48:57. > :49:00.from number three. That should give England a pause, a breather, a

:49:01. > :49:06.chance to clear their lines. The line-out has been very good

:49:07. > :49:09.throughout the championship. Able to have a period of play, you feel that

:49:10. > :49:15.first ten minutes they've been outplayed.

:49:16. > :49:19.You just talk about easy penalties, when you talk about referees. That's

:49:20. > :49:23.an easy one. That body shape going straight to floor, they never want

:49:24. > :49:30.to see that. There was no need. There's no real threat on the ball.

:49:31. > :49:45.It's a silly penalty. Red cap of James Haskell.

:49:46. > :49:56.This is why he's been picked to start for England! Outstanding. Just

:49:57. > :50:00.saw the gap, heads up rugby. That's what Danny Care does. That's the

:50:01. > :50:04.threat he poses. If there are any holes around break-down time, he

:50:05. > :50:12.will exploit them. Either by himself or putting someone through them.

:50:13. > :50:21.We'll see now, oh, that's poor defending. Care seeing it. How both

:50:22. > :50:27.teams seem to defend, they're not setting a guard. They seem to be

:50:28. > :50:32.more of a sliding chain, which does leave spaces around. They'll sit a

:50:33. > :50:35.metre behind the rucks and shift behind. It leaves spaces if

:50:36. > :50:44.someone's slow getting inside. More problems. Injury to Francois

:50:45. > :50:50.Trinh-Duc. This is painful for France as well. Owen Farrell adds

:50:51. > :50:55.the two points. Having had an uncomfortable opening

:50:56. > :51:01.period, England are in the lead. I think his ankle goes over there. Oh,

:51:02. > :51:15.yes, oh, that's awful. Don't want to see that again.

:51:16. > :51:22.Francois Trinh-Duc. He will take no more part. It's fantastic he's

:51:23. > :51:31.walking off the field, looking at that. Jules Plisson comes on to

:51:32. > :51:35.replace him. Now you have a completely different shape for

:51:36. > :51:40.France. France have had a period where they were totally on top. They

:51:41. > :51:43.didn't score the two tries they should have scored. Then sucker

:51:44. > :51:46.punched down the other end. Difficult to pick themselves up.

:51:47. > :51:53.Psychologically from an England point of view, if they can dig into

:51:54. > :51:57.them now and get another score, it could be a long evening for France.

:51:58. > :52:01.You can see the crowd are getting behind them. It's gone down a little

:52:02. > :52:06.bit. Really, England need to try and keep their foot on that and take

:52:07. > :52:20.advantage of it. A mistake off the restart doesn't help.

:52:21. > :52:27.Back to the original knock-on from the restart. Is it Mike Brown taking

:52:28. > :52:33.that? Unusual. They switched sides. They went for, I think, both sides

:52:34. > :52:37.have gone for different, not normal, kicks. They've gone to compete and

:52:38. > :52:41.get the ball back. You look how good it is at sevens now getting the ball

:52:42. > :52:45.back, it's a threat. It's a wise decision. It's something we used to

:52:46. > :52:53.do a long time ago, we saw a restart as a way of getting the ball back

:52:54. > :52:56.rather than just kicking it away. There will be all sorts of talk

:52:57. > :53:11.about this particular area. Hopefully half an hour till the next

:53:12. > :53:17.one. Penalty to France. Mako Vunipola goes down in a bit of a

:53:18. > :53:31.heap, hope he's all right.. Vunipola starts out straight. His bind goes.

:53:32. > :53:36.Easy decision. Are you going to start going on about leaning over?

:53:37. > :53:49.No. With one foot in front of you, or not? That's on the tighthead

:53:50. > :53:56.side. Bind isn't long either. Vunipola he's gone down. You can see

:53:57. > :54:00.the tight end has gone in first. If Nigel Owens is round that side and

:54:01. > :54:15.sees Vunipola on his chest, he's going to penalise him first.

:54:16. > :54:23.Maxine Machenaud puts it clean through the middle. France nibble

:54:24. > :54:27.away at England's lead. There's a technical point there. If

:54:28. > :54:32.perhaps, as they do, line up square and have both feet parallel, once it

:54:33. > :54:37.goes below parallel, their bodies, they cannot stay up. If the left

:54:38. > :54:41.foot or right foot on the other side is further forward, you can bend and

:54:42. > :54:46.you will be able to go lower without collapsing. I remember you saying

:54:47. > :54:55.that at home. I did try it at home. It worked, didn't it? Meanwhile...

:54:56. > :55:09.Brilliant breakout by France. Dare they or just clear their lines

:55:10. > :55:20.and take the breather? Dear oh, dear. That would have been

:55:21. > :55:25.an interesting one. George Ford with the clearance. What must be

:55:26. > :55:29.concerning Eddie Jones at the moment is that is the third time France

:55:30. > :55:34.have ripped England in open play. Just wondering, Scott Spedding made

:55:35. > :55:42.the break, Wesley Fofana almost seemed to stop. Vakatawa starts it.

:55:43. > :55:50.They move it to the edge. We can't quite see what happens. He is there.

:55:51. > :56:14.I think he came from the switch rather than the... Plisson.

:56:15. > :56:19.It's interesting to see at the start, France are so deep. I think

:56:20. > :56:24.they realise England are going to keep this press on. They did it last

:56:25. > :56:27.year at Twickenham. They got round the outside of them a couple of

:56:28. > :56:32.times. Because with a push defence, you have to have that confidence to

:56:33. > :56:35.keep going. At some point, you have to wait for your inside to detect

:56:36. > :56:40.it. Because of how deep they are, they are able to stop that. I think

:56:41. > :56:42.it was Farrell who had to back away and wait for his winger to come with

:56:43. > :57:00.him. How quickly England have swept

:57:01. > :57:33.forward. Thumping tackle on the England

:57:34. > :58:00.seven. Penalty advantage against Gael

:58:01. > :58:18.Fickou. He's there! Dan Cole! Can he believe

:58:19. > :58:42.it? It's his second try for England. That's a personal triumph for Cole.

:58:43. > :58:47.Still a fair bit to do. Not put down. Not held again. He's entitled

:58:48. > :58:55.to do that. I think Guirado is asking for a blocking on Mako, which

:58:56. > :59:01.probably, in some ways he's right to ask the question. He's got a very

:59:02. > :59:02.good... Ah... I'm looking at that again and saying he's got a very

:59:03. > :59:20.good case. It's now going upstairs.

:59:21. > :59:24.REFEREE: As far as I'm concerned, its side onside. OK, time-out,

:59:25. > :59:39.check, check. I have an angle that I want to show

:59:40. > :59:51.you. REFEREE: This is the angle, Nigel.

:59:52. > :59:59.Not in front. He has made that decision to tackle bad guy. That is

:00:00. > :00:09.what he is not going If I were French, I'd be very

:00:10. > :00:42.unhappy about that, but I'm not. England's lead goes. 17-6. If there

:00:43. > :00:49.is any doubt about things like that, dropped the goal or take the cake.

:00:50. > :00:55.It is a good finish by Dan Cole, never mind what happened to Mako

:00:56. > :01:15.Vunipola. It is a rolling, rumbling finish by the burly Leicester prop.

:01:16. > :01:23.Out of play again. A bit too tight to that touchline. A bit of

:01:24. > :01:32.organisation needs to go on, some tweaks at half-time. They are

:01:33. > :01:35.leaving... Putting them under a lot of pressure, straight back down the

:01:36. > :02:17.blindside. Mermoz slightly got away with the

:02:18. > :02:29.hesitation, ducking under the tackle, but it looks dangerous.

:02:30. > :02:50.Flanquart to his secondary partner, Yoann Maestri.

:02:51. > :02:54.Good pressure, good kick. Jack Nowell weights. Nearly brilliantly

:02:55. > :03:16.taken. The ball planted at halfway. France

:03:17. > :03:23.penalised. He's deflected that prop. They emerged from birth, I think.

:03:24. > :03:34.There is a prop. Owen Farrell outright will be go to the corner?

:03:35. > :03:48.Not bad, within the 22. Great pressure by Danny Care. It has

:03:49. > :03:55.put them on a bit of pressure. Trying to force that error. England

:03:56. > :04:07.have a good platform now. They have been imperious so far.

:04:08. > :04:19.England now going forward and across. It is the danger man again,

:04:20. > :04:25.Danny Care. George Kruis, to Chris Robshaw.

:04:26. > :05:10.France now with the net gain. A huge net game.

:05:11. > :05:57.There will be a lot of stick about that, quite rightly, too.

:05:58. > :06:11.Beautiful footwork by the centre, now playing for France on the wing.

:06:12. > :06:34.Poirot just about held possession. Mermoz drifting. Vakatawa! Five

:06:35. > :06:35.metres short. And in touch again. If you are going to play that sort of

:06:36. > :06:37.defence, you have to get someone or stay back. He questioned himself

:06:38. > :06:43.just before he went off. It was just a bit late and he hangs Jack Nowell

:06:44. > :06:49.out to dry a bit. Farrell looks hard to get back and manages to drag him

:06:50. > :06:52.into touch at the same time. Jack Nowell clearly worried he isn't

:06:53. > :06:59.getting people around the corner to help him out.

:07:00. > :07:27.It bounces down from Maro Itoje into the channel. Hartley scooped it up.

:07:28. > :07:43.It has gone backwards. Great pick-up from Itoje. Turnover for England.

:07:44. > :07:52.What can they do? Owen Farrell says, let's keep it in the middle.

:07:53. > :08:08.Not releasing. That came from changing their mind. The ball went

:08:09. > :08:10.back inside and the supporting players were not in positions. Hence

:08:11. > :08:31.being isolated. Although England are leading at the

:08:32. > :08:37.moment, I don't think they are necessarily the best team. At the

:08:38. > :08:41.moment, they don't have that control we have seen over the last matches

:08:42. > :08:46.they have played. I think France have done very good homework on

:08:47. > :08:50.England. They have been able to get around. We have seen a few

:08:51. > :08:54.weaknesses, and they seem to be exploiting them. We keep harping on

:08:55. > :08:59.about the botched kicks, but at the moment, and the five metre line, if

:09:00. > :09:03.Vakatawa a free run back. They have to go into touch and regroup or get

:09:04. > :09:20.somebody up there and compete. Straight and true, Machenaud.

:09:21. > :10:05.France, 9. England, 19. -- 17. Turnover for Machenaud. Good defence

:10:06. > :10:10.by Danny Care. He had to scramble there. Machenaud spotted blindside

:10:11. > :10:23.possibilities. It will be one for Eddie Jones to

:10:24. > :10:28.address at half-time. Many things you mentioned, but also the decision

:10:29. > :10:36.around the breakdown, taking the ball into the breakdown.

:10:37. > :10:52.Turnout. REFEREE: Keep the gap open, please.

:10:53. > :11:10.Stay online. You keep the spaces right, please.

:11:11. > :11:23.Penalty advantage. Not far enough, but there is an advantage.

:11:24. > :11:33.Itoje could do something. You can't. They go back to that penalty. Again,

:11:34. > :11:54.very unsubtle. Very easy for Nigel Owens to see.

:11:55. > :12:06.Nigel Owens just telling... Well, there is the challenge in the air.

:12:07. > :12:07.Owen Farrell going a little beyond the mark, running through the mark

:12:08. > :12:27.and then kicking. Good set piece move. Anthony Watson

:12:28. > :12:43.comes in field as well. Vunipola held up by Maestri. Get it

:12:44. > :13:04.away to Chris Robshaw. Inside the 22. They know he was

:13:05. > :13:25.coming. Mike Brown, tackled by his opposite

:13:26. > :13:30.number, Scott Spedding. Still there. No longer.

:13:31. > :13:40.A little knock-on. A France ball. That is what they mean when they are

:13:41. > :13:48.talking about accuracy. Just the small things. When you get easy

:13:49. > :14:01.context, when you drive over, or a foot knocks the ball down. France

:14:02. > :14:05.did well to defend that. Great play. Unlucky for Brown, stumbling

:14:06. > :14:12.beforehand. Not quite sure that was totally legal. But you have to look

:14:13. > :14:20.after the bowl when you are in that situation. He was a bit hampered.

:14:21. > :14:25.Vakatawa has been on the circuit. It's a different defensive system

:14:26. > :14:49.altogether. Down he goes. Nigel Owens allows

:14:50. > :15:07.played to go on. It will be interesting to see. The

:15:08. > :15:09.number eight goes beyond it. He goes beyond his back foot. No matter

:15:10. > :15:26.where he is, that it out. It is a different ball game

:15:27. > :15:40.altogether. Yes, they need to be skew previously clean air. --

:15:41. > :15:46.scrupulously clean air. Yeah, right! The French is right back in there

:15:47. > :15:55.first. It came back out again. Brilliantly done by Billy Vunipola.

:15:56. > :16:02.Jack Nowell, still going. Up to seven metres out.

:16:03. > :16:09.Care weights, looks to be blindside, goes over to James Robbins your --

:16:10. > :16:34.Chris Robshaw. Good French tackling so far.

:16:35. > :16:39.Hartley, still solid defensive work. Good tackles, and it pays off,

:16:40. > :16:46.because England lose control of the ball. I was about to say, it is

:16:47. > :16:50.important for England to come up with something from this set of

:16:51. > :16:57.phases. They are not going to, it would seem. They just couldn't quite

:16:58. > :17:02.get it through past Billy Vunipola. A nice overlap on the edge. What

:17:03. > :17:06.England have been brilliant at in all of their games if they have been

:17:07. > :17:12.clinical. But not tonight. It isn't quite going their way. For the

:17:13. > :17:17.French, first of defence has been better than good. They have fallen

:17:18. > :17:23.off fewer tackles and they are making it hard. Eddie Jones will

:17:24. > :17:27.have things to say but, when you are not playing well and you are eight

:17:28. > :17:36.points up at half-time... That is obviously beneficial, but you want

:17:37. > :17:38.to get it as close as you can. Eddie Jones, he is not going to settle for

:17:39. > :18:07.it being like this. Good French scrum. Machenaud to

:18:08. > :18:31.Plisson. Not that time. France foot tackling

:18:32. > :18:34.again good. Penalised. England's winger Maxime Mermoz gets the pat on

:18:35. > :18:59.the head for the tackle. He has taken them from Blair. --

:19:00. > :19:06.from there. Three minutes. Here is the follow-up tackle. Bernard Le

:19:07. > :19:17.Roux at first, and then over those Mermoz. -- over goes. Quite clear,

:19:18. > :19:28.not releasing. Not really much of a gap there. Dare France go long to

:19:29. > :19:34.detail? No, and it is picked off by George Kruis. Still danger. Watson

:19:35. > :19:38.has to go back. He did incredibly well there. Anthony Watson X six

:19:39. > :20:04.metres. Good play by Scott Spedding.

:20:05. > :20:12.Presented quickly for Machenaud. Plisson switches. Chouly! They

:20:13. > :20:26.continue their grapple as play goes on. Penalty advantage to France.

:20:27. > :20:34.Plisson waits. Spedding. Chouly. Flanquart again. There is still a

:20:35. > :20:40.penalty advantage to France. Fickou goes the Long Way round, tries to

:20:41. > :20:43.states and are but gets nowhere. -- tries to straighten up. France have

:20:44. > :20:54.the penalty. It is a double blow, really. It will

:20:55. > :21:00.give France a relatively easy shots at goal, if they are going to go

:21:01. > :21:05.there. I think they are. And I think, given that England were

:21:06. > :21:10.looking in a period of four or five minutes of pressure, they will be

:21:11. > :21:16.quite happy, relatively, to see three points go over, get down the

:21:17. > :21:25.other rent and see this half out in the lead. Loann Goujon had the

:21:26. > :21:31.experience of running into Billy Vunipola. That is break-out by

:21:32. > :21:38.France, and continued pressure. It has led to penalty chances.

:21:39. > :21:58.Maxime Machenaud, going through his rituals.

:21:59. > :22:08.Machenaud, and France creep ever closer. 12-17. On balance, I think

:22:09. > :22:17.you've got to say that France deserved those points. 30 seconds to

:22:18. > :22:22.go. Time for the restart, by George Ford. Vakatawa weights. Turns,

:22:23. > :22:46.spins. There is time for the scrum. Little

:22:47. > :22:53.things going wrong for France, Machenaud not happy with himself.

:22:54. > :22:57.You have situations like this... In 2003, you are well known for what

:22:58. > :23:00.happens if you get here. They should be anticipating something like this,

:23:01. > :23:05.whereby the minimum they end up with is a situation where they drop a

:23:06. > :23:10.goal. With the clock running over, they will have the set piece time in

:23:11. > :23:14.the middle. They will keep the ball in hand but, in the back of their

:23:15. > :23:19.minds, they should have walking away three points from the drop goal and

:23:20. > :23:28.establishing a solid lead with the 8-point lead going into the half. I

:23:29. > :23:33.think we will probably see something around the middle of the two

:23:34. > :23:36.centres, getting before words involved and see where we are going.

:23:37. > :23:58.-- getting the forwards involved. The cynical me thinks that England

:23:59. > :24:02.will scrum one... You can't rely on the revelry being on your side. The

:24:03. > :24:11.first one to turn it there was Slimani. Of course, the referees

:24:12. > :24:16.don't have the overhead camera, but they are close to the action. A good

:24:17. > :24:18.conversation going on with John Lacey on the far side. There he is,

:24:19. > :24:29.on the touchline. Deep into overtime at the end of the

:24:30. > :24:32.first half. England will go in with the lead. How big will it be? There

:24:33. > :24:54.you go, Mike, you got your wish. I never quite understood why, when

:24:55. > :25:01.the referee and stupid penalty, everybody congratulates you, when

:25:02. > :25:08.you haven't done anything? Just trying to GUI. Backs need to feel

:25:09. > :25:26.like we are involved. -- just trying to cheer you up.

:25:27. > :25:30.I don't think it would all be the same if we went up and capped Nigel

:25:31. > :25:44.Owens. Owen Farrell, to send England into

:25:45. > :25:55.the changing room eight points in front.

:25:56. > :26:01.Stays out. England's lead is five points at half-time. Owen Farrell

:26:02. > :26:22.trots off at half-time. STUDIO: It is fantastic, I hope the

:26:23. > :26:28.noise of the studio is coming over at home. An engrossing match. So

:26:29. > :26:31.many fascinating battles. Was that the key moment, Danny Care seeing

:26:32. > :26:37.the gap and going forward, giving England the ascendancy? In a half of

:26:38. > :26:42.key moments, how crucial might that miss by Owen Farrell be on the

:26:43. > :26:49.stroke of half-time? There is only one score in it. England are 17-12

:26:50. > :26:54.to the good. The number of tackles missed by England, 15 out of 58.

:26:55. > :26:59.That is 20% more of their tackles that they have been missing. An

:27:00. > :27:04.intriguing game. Michael checker is alongside me. Is that a fair

:27:05. > :27:10.reflection of the first 40 minutes? I think so. The French have played

:27:11. > :27:14.OK. They have made some breaks and maybe not have the confidence to

:27:15. > :27:22.stay with the ball. They have thrown few balls away. From an England

:27:23. > :27:27.perspective? They haven't been as up for it is in the first four games.

:27:28. > :27:31.The French are not off-loading as much as they have, which is causing

:27:32. > :27:36.all the turnovers and errors. That is why France are more in this game.

:27:37. > :27:42.They really are causing England problems. We find some gaps in the

:27:43. > :27:46.English defence, and I think that was the best half from the French

:27:47. > :27:50.team in the last four years, but England are a good team. We are

:27:51. > :27:55.still behind, but the English team is really good. Maybe we need a bit

:27:56. > :28:01.more discipline than we are in a good way. England have been very

:28:02. > :28:05.creative. In the first few games today, they have been a bit more

:28:06. > :28:16.like, we are going to run over the top of his guys. France came out and

:28:17. > :28:17.they were aggressive. I would be interested to see the mindset. I

:28:18. > :28:21.think England felt they could steal it in the first 20 minutes and score

:28:22. > :28:27.some tries, but it hasn't been the case. France got off to a flyer but

:28:28. > :28:29.it was Mike Brown and that burst down the touchline when perhaps he

:28:30. > :28:36.didn't see Anthony Watson which was the first scoring opportunity. He

:28:37. > :28:41.got through, shaping the tackle, looking inside immediately. If he

:28:42. > :28:49.straightens up, the defender, Watson is in. That would have given him the

:28:50. > :28:53.confidence to crack on even further. But a loose pass? Mike Brown has

:28:54. > :28:58.been good in the aerial battle but he needed to be stronger mentally

:28:59. > :29:04.there. As soon as you make a gap, you need to look on the outside, and

:29:05. > :29:10.he didn't do that. He is a great player, Mike Brown. He has the ball

:29:11. > :29:13.in one had so you know it isn't on unless he is going to flick it out

:29:14. > :29:21.to the side. He is probably thinking he can go for the try. We always

:29:22. > :29:24.talk about the try, but a try can be created in many different ways.

:29:25. > :29:29.Sometimes by the other team doing something 90 yards away. If we go

:29:30. > :29:33.through the sequence of events leading to Danny Care's try, you

:29:34. > :29:40.feel like the French were the architects of their own demise.

:29:41. > :29:48.Every moment counts in the game. Right here, Vakatawa, he has made a

:29:49. > :29:53.great break. That has led to the field position that brings on the

:29:54. > :30:01.try for England. Well done, Danny Care. It should have gone in to the

:30:02. > :30:07.ruck. Trying to get into that space. Danny Care spotted it. That is what

:30:08. > :30:19.he was brought into the side for. The story and he scored. Slow French

:30:20. > :30:20.reactions. It will slow because, with so much pressure, we were a bit

:30:21. > :30:21.tired. Even if the French defence was good during the first half, in

:30:22. > :30:30.that moment, we were weak. Eddie's seen something in there and

:30:31. > :30:37.he can claim the first try there. They've turned the volume up here, I

:30:38. > :30:44.think. The second England try has provoked absolute fewer ory on

:30:45. > :30:48.social media -- furore. People saying miningel owns, who's had a

:30:49. > :30:52.great first half, made a major error.

:30:53. > :31:02.I think he's got it right, people will say, yeah you're English. But

:31:03. > :31:09.Mako Vunipola there, he should have been zeroing in on Cole. They've got

:31:10. > :31:15.the NFL on in London now, but the problem is, I'm only joking there,

:31:16. > :31:20.but Guirado can't wrap his arm to make the tackle. That's what he

:31:21. > :31:25.would want to do. If there's doubt he has to give it to the attacking

:31:26. > :31:32.team. He can't make the tackle because he can't wrap the arm

:31:33. > :31:37.around. He's committed to Mako. I agree with you. He wants to tackle,

:31:38. > :31:42.you know, he cannot because both players stick to each other. The

:31:43. > :31:47.referee, he had to look at it. I complete disagree. That was a very

:31:48. > :31:50.interesting move. It's one of the first times I've known it, the only

:31:51. > :31:56.reason they went to the TMO is that the crowd were make soing much noise

:31:57. > :32:07.that Nigel Owens felt intimidated he to see. England, fey in the World

:32:08. > :32:10.Cup, they went to it then. Guirado, seriously, he looked at Mako

:32:11. > :32:15.Vunipola believing he's going to get the ball then he dips down. He can't

:32:16. > :32:19.see what's going on. He believes Mako is getting the ball. England

:32:20. > :32:23.were 17-6 up and very much in control. Penalties have brought

:32:24. > :32:26.France back into the game. From a French perspective certainly things

:32:27. > :32:29.you want to talk about, not least players running out of play. You've

:32:30. > :32:35.got to stay within the field of play. I think it's a basic. You

:32:36. > :32:38.can't run out of touch. You can't run into touch. It doesn't matter

:32:39. > :32:43.what the opposition present you, you've got to do everything you can

:32:44. > :32:47.to stay in. That's about believing that I'm going to score off the next

:32:48. > :32:53.phase or the one after that. We've made a great break here, stay with.

:32:54. > :33:01.It it's something to learn. Every time Vakatawa had the ball, he was a

:33:02. > :33:05.threat. He had a very bad pass from Debuchy previously. He makes some

:33:06. > :33:09.yards and brings danger into the defence. Explain for us if you

:33:10. > :33:13.could, why are the French backs so often taking the ball standing

:33:14. > :33:17.still? Because rescared by the English defence. It's a rush

:33:18. > :33:22.defence. We should use the foot a bit more to bring the defence a bit

:33:23. > :33:28.back. We are so deep. We tried to go round. But we should run a bit with

:33:29. > :33:31.the ball and go into the defence. A lot of teams defend with the inside

:33:32. > :33:35.man following the outside man. England's reversing that. The

:33:36. > :33:38.outside man is doing what the inside man does by hooking right up. It's

:33:39. > :33:44.getting in the eye line of the French. They're a bit worried about

:33:45. > :33:49.it as opposed to running at it. Plisson will adjust. It says a lot

:33:50. > :33:52.about the way the French are set not knowing what they're going to do,

:33:53. > :34:01.how they're going to do it and when? . That's why we nearly scored from

:34:02. > :34:06.our half. It's very ad lib. We know if we are organised, we can win

:34:07. > :34:13.against England. We need to create magic. Vakatawa, started, and you

:34:14. > :34:17.think sometimes why we don't kick, why we don't try to play simple.

:34:18. > :34:22.It's just because we think we want to show we can do some special

:34:23. > :34:25.things. From a coaching perspective, it's an intriguing confrontation.

:34:26. > :34:30.What particularly is attracting you here? It's very much a couple of

:34:31. > :34:34.different philosophies that are at play in the first half. England are

:34:35. > :34:38.trying to steam roll them a bit much the French are trying to play out,

:34:39. > :34:41.just like Thomas is saying, play the game out. What happened I notice

:34:42. > :34:45.issed when the French picked up their aggression in the second part

:34:46. > :34:49.of that half, their play started happening better. Aggression is the

:34:50. > :34:53.fuel to most good play. That's what the French love. You take on the

:34:54. > :34:59.French physically and you break them in ten minutes, they go completely.

:35:00. > :35:03.They've stood up. The changes they've made have really worked. The

:35:04. > :35:08.game is still open. 29 points in the first half here in Paris this

:35:09. > :35:11.evening. We had 141 points in the two matches earlier on today in

:35:12. > :35:26.Cardiff and in Dublin. Here are some of the best moments.

:35:27. > :35:37.COMMENTATOR: Jonathan Davis is free. He scores. Davis gets the touchdown

:35:38. > :35:39.through so many pairs of hands. It went from one end of the field to

:35:40. > :35:53.the other. George North all the way himself for

:35:54. > :36:00.the try. What a try from George North! He does it again, four games

:36:01. > :36:03.in a row in the Six Nations. Only Shane Williams has managed that for

:36:04. > :36:19.Wales now George North has done. It

:36:20. > :36:31.Beautiful, magical. That is a little bit special. A fabulous moment of

:36:32. > :36:51.genius. Stuart Hogg is playing the rugby of his life right now.

:36:52. > :36:57.It's Keith Earls. On the occasion of his 50th cap making the most of a

:36:58. > :37:20.very clever little tip. And it did. A fantastic match

:37:21. > :37:24.earlier on today. That's how the table looks with one

:37:25. > :37:28.match still to go. Whatever happens in the second half here, England

:37:29. > :37:31.will receive the RBS Six Nations trophy on the final whistle. They

:37:32. > :37:35.will obviously hope together with that they will get the Grand Slam,

:37:36. > :37:39.otherwise it might be muted celebrations, it's fair to say. The

:37:40. > :37:41.women's Six Nations has reached a climax this weekend, though there

:37:42. > :37:45.are still two matches that have to be completed. The championship was

:37:46. > :37:50.at stake in the match between the French women and England's women. If

:37:51. > :37:56.France won this match, they would win the title on points difference.

:37:57. > :37:59.That's exactly what happened. The French scrum-half kicking the ball

:38:00. > :38:03.out of play to round things off there. Absolute delight for the

:38:04. > :38:06.French team and as we look at the table, we can see that France and

:38:07. > :38:11.England finishing with eight points each. But with France with a

:38:12. > :38:15.markedly better points difference. Scotland finishing at the bottom of

:38:16. > :38:24.the table. They have two matches to play tomorrow.

:38:25. > :38:29.One always says on these occasions about what's going to be said in the

:38:30. > :38:32.dressing room at half time, but from a French perspective what do they

:38:33. > :38:34.need to do, accuracy in the final third? They haven't scored a try

:38:35. > :38:39.yet. Where's that score going to come from? I think they just need to

:38:40. > :38:44.believe in themselves down near the goal line. They're making breaks. It

:38:45. > :38:48.shows the missed tackle count for England is down a bit from what they

:38:49. > :38:52.usually do. Once they make a break, put pressure on. It's a bit in the

:38:53. > :38:55.mind as well to be down in the opposition 22. From an English

:38:56. > :39:00.perspective? Get your tackling right. 4% success rate is not good

:39:01. > :39:04.enough. Keep the penalties down, six they've conceded, four in their own

:39:05. > :39:11.half. That's why the French are ticking along the score board with

:39:12. > :39:15.the numbers. And believe. England have to do that. Don't Veer from

:39:16. > :39:19.your game plan. Believe it's going to work. The line speed should be

:39:20. > :39:23.the same for the French. England will attack. In the rucks we need to

:39:24. > :39:27.be more effective. We need to slow the pace of the English. I think in

:39:28. > :39:35.terms of being compelling entertainment, let's hope the second

:39:36. > :39:38.half is as good as the first. COMMENTATOR: The last round of the

:39:39. > :39:42.Six Nations and they stand on the brink.

:39:43. > :39:44.The first Grand Slam since 2003. That is a very poor start for

:39:45. > :39:55.England. France take the lead. We're all square. Danny Care. This

:39:56. > :40:02.is why he's been picked. Cole. Still Cole. He's there.

:40:03. > :40:08.France creep ever closer. 12 points to England's 17.

:40:09. > :40:11.STUDIO: The French are out on the field of play and have been for

:40:12. > :40:15.quite a while. England have kept them waiting. England have been

:40:16. > :40:19.waiting for 13 years for a Grand Slam. They're 40 minutes away from

:40:20. > :40:25.it. Just five points in it, though, this really is a match that is

:40:26. > :40:29.balanced on a knife edge. I know you're not going anywhere this

:40:30. > :40:34.Saturday night until the Grand Slam is either won or lost from an

:40:35. > :40:38.English perspective. We have two teams but no officials. Are you

:40:39. > :40:41.still convinced that France might upset the English apple cart here?

:40:42. > :40:45.Yeah, I'm convinced. We show in the first half that we've got the

:40:46. > :40:50.strength and capacity to do that. The English team, I've been

:40:51. > :40:54.surprised, you know, even under massive pressure they manage to deal

:40:55. > :40:59.with the French pressure. England get out of your own half quicker. In

:41:00. > :41:04.previous games, it's been brilliant, quick, sharp and effective. Here are

:41:05. > :41:08.the last 40 minutes of the Six Nations 2016.

:41:09. > :41:15.COMMENTATOR: Joe Marler is on the field. Jules Plisson to start the

:41:16. > :42:54.second half. England lead by five points.

:42:55. > :43:34.Penalty advantage to France. We go back for the penalty. England

:43:35. > :43:40.scramble defence only just holding there. Giving a penalty away because

:43:41. > :43:47.they were anxious about the ball coming back. Good defensive work in

:43:48. > :43:51.the end. Great start from Vakatawa. He's involved straight from the off.

:43:52. > :43:55.Just such a powerful, just to have that power as well as that balanced

:43:56. > :44:06.running is causing all sorts of problems one on one for defenders.

:44:07. > :44:12.Nigel Owens has called for a new ball.

:44:13. > :44:25.Vakatawa is such a threat in open play.

:44:26. > :44:36.Just look at Vakatawa's stats, he's had 12 carries, over 100 metres,

:44:37. > :44:39.compared to anyone else on either team he's streets ahead. The more

:44:40. > :44:48.they can get the ball in his hands, the better it will be.

:44:49. > :44:58.His fifth penalty, France up to 15. England on 17 have the lead. But

:44:59. > :45:05.it's been an encouraging start for France. They started brightly. A

:45:06. > :45:14.ball that squirts out, a bouncing ball always seems to create

:45:15. > :45:20.difficulties. Vakatawa with the pass off the ground to Bernard Le Roux.

:45:21. > :45:28.Ben Youngs is on. Danny Care rots off.

:45:29. > :45:58.-- trots off. Turnover, but illegal. And right -

:45:59. > :46:03.he knows - right from giving France an early flip, this happens so many

:46:04. > :46:11.times, from the restart, easy penalty given away. And it's just

:46:12. > :46:18.unnecessary. He doesn't need to do it. They've just got back really

:46:19. > :46:21.into the game. Now giving a chance for England to relieve the pressure

:46:22. > :46:26.a bit and move on again and get the five points ahead. And actually get

:46:27. > :46:29.some confidence out of the back of it as well.

:46:30. > :46:33.Owen Farrell missed his last penalty. This one easier, well,

:46:34. > :47:02.straighter. It's good.

:47:03. > :47:08.A little anxious look back by Owen Farrell. But England up to 20

:47:09. > :47:14.points. The people who wondered whether or not this would be a

:47:15. > :47:18.proper examination of credentials for a potential Grand Slam team have

:47:19. > :47:33.had their doubts answered. It is going to be a proper examination.

:47:34. > :47:44.Scrum. Everybody got a little excited. Fair rucking,

:47:45. > :47:49.counterrucking. In the past when England have narrowly failed to get

:47:50. > :47:54.either championships or Grand Slams where they've been runners up, it's

:47:55. > :47:57.at points like this where they've failed, where they haven't been able

:47:58. > :48:04.to keep their clarity and purpose, where they haven't been able to

:48:05. > :48:07.execute things properly. Has Eddie Jones found a way to put that

:48:08. > :49:00.confidence into them? Good tackle in the end. This is what

:49:01. > :49:05.England need now, just up the pace. Ben Youngs has come on. He's getting

:49:06. > :49:09.the ball away quickly. It's what they talked about all

:49:10. > :49:59.week, trying to lift the tempo and tire this French team ou. -- out.

:50:00. > :50:10.Doesn't bump into his own player, but uses his own player as a shield.

:50:11. > :50:15.A clear crossing, but from an England point of view, that last two

:50:16. > :50:19.on three minutes as been much more cogent. You saw in that pattern of

:50:20. > :50:24.play, George Ford was so much flatter to the line, taking it going

:50:25. > :50:28.forward. Off the back of that, they got really nice, fast ball, allowing

:50:29. > :50:33.Ben Youngs to get in and out of the rucks. They've been a bit messy and

:50:34. > :50:38.the end of the last half, the start of this half, but if they can get

:50:39. > :50:45.clean, quick balls, that's what they need.

:50:46. > :50:52.France's captain receiving attention, as is Jefferson Poirot.

:50:53. > :51:00.It won't be long before the front rows start to change.

:51:01. > :51:17.Scott Spedding. He won't hold back on the clearance.

:51:18. > :51:26.Just about up to halfway. France take a leisurely stroll towards it.

:51:27. > :51:28.They want to get this right. Five points separate the teams, England

:51:29. > :51:42.in the lead. A change of tactics. Mermoz comes

:51:43. > :51:49.away with the ball. Thought that had to be a penalty for just pushing him

:51:50. > :51:52.out of the way there. Penalty advantage. England not

:51:53. > :52:03.releasing. Dylan Hartley told by Nigel Owens,

:52:04. > :52:29.plenty of drama left. Someone there shouting "discipline".

:52:30. > :52:37.But whoever it is is right. Dylan Hartley here. I'm sure he will claim

:52:38. > :52:42.that he actually ripped the ball there and was in possession.

:52:43. > :52:45.Imagine if the referee told you to go and have a word with yourself.

:52:46. > :52:50.That would be an interesting conversation. I talk to myself all

:52:51. > :52:55.the time. It would be a long one. That's the only way I get a sensible

:52:56. > :53:01.conversation. Maxine Machenaud lines up the kick

:53:02. > :53:05.that would - I don't know what it would do to England. It will make

:53:06. > :53:10.them feel nervous. That is precisely what the French need to do, because

:53:11. > :53:14.as they know, in the past, England have not been able to see these sort

:53:15. > :53:17.of situations through. This is a question mark that

:53:18. > :53:22.everyone has been asking about this team and about the management.

:53:23. > :53:35.Machenaud straight through the middle. The gap closes again. France

:53:36. > :53:46.18, England 20. People Jess tick lating at --

:53:47. > :53:49.gesticulating on the field. France haven't been great at this.

:53:50. > :53:53.They score a penalty - They've turned it over as well. Then give

:53:54. > :54:24.something away. This time it's the ball rather than the penalty.

:54:25. > :54:26.A squirting, drop goal attempt. That is why.

:54:27. > :54:46.Timeout. George Ford was forced into that ad

:54:47. > :54:50.hoc decision, because the pass to him was way behind him. He had to

:54:51. > :54:56.turn round. It killed all the momentum. When you're talking about

:54:57. > :54:57.discipline, it includes that sort of thing, getting the passes in front

:54:58. > :55:15.of the man. Give France a lot of credit. They've

:55:16. > :55:16.handled - we've seen people struggle to handle Billy Vunipola. But today,

:55:17. > :55:28.they've contained him. He's not allowed to do that. He

:55:29. > :55:36.rolls back a couple of times too many.

:55:37. > :55:39.The reasoning behind that is if you're on the floor, you're deemed

:55:40. > :55:44.to be out of the game. You've either got to release the ball or get to

:55:45. > :55:48.your feet. And the reason for that law is this: That you're not allowed

:55:49. > :55:51.to play a man on the floor. If you stay on the floor, you're keeping

:55:52. > :55:57.people from playing you and that's the reason why that is a penalty.

:55:58. > :56:03.Thanks for that. What he's trying to do is stop

:56:04. > :56:06.someone getting their hands on the ball to steal it. Unfortunately he

:56:07. > :56:12.ended up rolling away from one and into another one.

:56:13. > :56:20.The crowd is just starting to get back into this game. There was a net

:56:21. > :56:21.game of 60 yards there. George Kruis steals a French

:56:22. > :57:08.line-out. Great turnover. I think it's Owen

:57:09. > :57:14.Farrell who turned it over for England.

:57:15. > :57:22.Mike Brown kicks when there seemed to be an overlap.

:57:23. > :57:26.It's fairly chaotic out there. You can just sense the nerves. Someone

:57:27. > :57:31.needs to look up there. If you look at the numbers out there for France,

:57:32. > :57:34.not only were they inferior, but there were many front five forwards

:57:35. > :57:40.potentially going to be trying to tackle backs. Think back to what

:57:41. > :57:44.Jerry was saying at halftime about England and how they've exited so

:57:45. > :57:51.well. They're not doing that again. Again, it was rushed. France are

:57:52. > :57:55.making a few too many errors. Back-to-back turnovers by Itoje and

:57:56. > :57:57.Farrell. It's just getting too loose at the

:57:58. > :58:02.moment. England have to get that control back. For France, it started

:58:03. > :58:11.at the line-out. That was lost. Then two break down losses. England have

:58:12. > :58:15.not been quite as straight. They're not doing the basics. Have you to

:58:16. > :58:20.earn the right to go wide by going forward. Getting yourself on the

:58:21. > :58:23.front foot, allowing the ball to come back quickly. England are not

:58:24. > :58:25.accurate. They're not making enough yards going forward. Everything else

:58:26. > :59:02.is falling down behind that. Vunipola. A chance to get a head of

:59:03. > :59:07.steam of life. We've is clear. Now he looks for support. Anthony Watson

:59:08. > :59:16.on the left side, Watson for England! Is that the try that seals

:59:17. > :59:24.the grand slam? That is what you can do if you don't play for penalties,

:59:25. > :59:28.get over the gain line. It would be interesting to watch that because

:59:29. > :59:32.Vunipola had so much room. Normally I would expect the back row to pick

:59:33. > :59:39.him up a bit earlier. Get free run at ten. Going for the wheel of the

:59:40. > :59:45.scrum. Perfect for what he wants to do. All presented, quick, and a

:59:46. > :59:54.smart kick. Good pace by Watson do not panic. -- good patience. It

:59:55. > :00:02.shows that England could, like a lot of sides, hooked the ball into a

:00:03. > :00:08.scrum, go for a penalty, kick in a corner. There are sides to try to

:00:09. > :00:19.use scrums as restarts. Owen Farrell moves the camera out of

:00:20. > :00:43.his pile. It leaves the gap at seven points.

:00:44. > :00:55.If I was Dylan Hartley, It leaves the gap at seven points.

:00:56. > :00:56.would be about, let's get a clean exit after this restart. They have

:00:57. > :01:02.really struggled. England need to get a nice exit, reset themselves

:01:03. > :01:06.and get back into this game. Not back into it, but get out of their

:01:07. > :01:16.own arguments and play the opposition's R. Multiple changes for

:01:17. > :01:19.France. Paul Jedrasiak is into the second row. Slimani is off, Poirot

:01:20. > :01:32.is off. George Kruis gets a hand to it.

:01:33. > :01:36.France try and get through. They have won themselves a penalty. The

:01:37. > :01:45.exit strategy, the management of the restart. You have to give credit to

:01:46. > :01:52.France. The restarts they have done had given them a real chance of

:01:53. > :01:55.getting the ball back. But still... They've got to be a bit smarter

:01:56. > :02:03.about getting people there and protecting Jack Nowell. Even so, if

:02:04. > :02:07.you are going to lose a ball, then, at the end of the day, it is about

:02:08. > :02:13.your defence. You can't defend penalty kicks.

:02:14. > :02:36.Xavier Chiocci in the front row, for France. Jedrasiak in the second.

:02:37. > :02:47.Start Machenaud is a magnificent game. France 21, England 25. The

:02:48. > :02:52.French crowd are doing their utmost to win all their team on. -- two

:02:53. > :03:22.will their team on. Guy Noves, the French coach. The

:03:23. > :03:34.Florence coach alongside him. England throw. I'll goes George

:03:35. > :03:55.Kruis. -- up goes George Kruis. France did well to defend that

:03:56. > :04:00.initially. England trying to spin away from the concerted effort. They

:04:01. > :04:08.are left with a single player, Chris Robshaw. Dan Cole. It was a good

:04:09. > :04:19.off-load. Again, the off-load, it runs into

:04:20. > :04:21.Vakatawa. Jack Nowell, he is tackled by Vakatawa. Vakatawa doing

:04:22. > :04:53.everything! Once tackle. From once tackle

:04:54. > :04:55.straight to another. That is what you want as a supporting player,

:04:56. > :05:25.when you stood still. Oh, thank you. It hasn't looked like it so far, but

:05:26. > :05:33.England could do with a real challenge at this scrum.

:05:34. > :05:44.As it is, France Rush forward at the scrum. Easy penalty, England

:05:45. > :05:49.pulling. That is what a new front row can do for you. That is what 23

:05:50. > :06:08.stone of Atonio can do for you. Poirot -- Spedding kicks played into

:06:09. > :06:23.the English car. You were calling for pressure on the

:06:24. > :06:37.French scrum, but you were looking for something a bit more pushing.

:06:38. > :08:19.Yeah, not like that. And it is another line-out stolen by Maro

:08:20. > :08:27.It was a good decision from George Ford. They want a player who can go

:08:28. > :08:32.forward. But then they have lost the tempo. Sometimes you just have to

:08:33. > :08:38.turn it and put the pressure back on France.

:08:39. > :08:51.Guirado, pressure on him. Machenaud is still under real pressure, as

:08:52. > :08:58.England try to keep him up. I think they have done their job. It is a

:08:59. > :09:04.good surge from France, after a very not promising start.

:09:05. > :09:17.That is the damage done by Itoje. Oh, he has been penalised. A bit

:09:18. > :09:25.unlucky there. He has taken out the scrum. He just carried into

:09:26. > :09:32.somebody. I think it is the shoulder.

:09:33. > :09:44.So France are back where they were Eddie Jones... Still nervous

:09:45. > :09:46.moments. Well, they should be nervous. There is only one

:09:47. > :10:01.non-converted score. France, because of the seven man

:10:02. > :10:04.line-out, it hasn't been going well. The problem with shortening your

:10:05. > :10:11.line-out is they are actually giving, if you look at Itoje and

:10:12. > :10:19.Kruis, you are giving them an easier target to go after, surely. John

:10:20. > :10:26.Lacey, a brave Irishman, gets between them. Enough for England to

:10:27. > :10:37.be concerned about without getting involved. Really, they need a third

:10:38. > :10:43.of stability now. 14 minutes to go. Damien Chouly against George Kruis.

:10:44. > :10:54.It came down on the side of George Kruis. Still active.

:10:55. > :10:57.Nigel Owens has called for the ball to be put down the middle. Let's

:10:58. > :11:13.have a bet, shall we? Well, he's going to have another

:11:14. > :11:15.look. You know what, let's just change the law on this and admit

:11:16. > :11:47.what's going on. It's just awful. It remains the problem area for the

:11:48. > :12:05.game. Guirado in disgust at the lost art of scrummaging.

:12:06. > :12:24.Would you not say that France are looking for a penalty there? I would

:12:25. > :12:28.definitely agree with you, but I think you just wants the ball out

:12:29. > :12:41.and playing. I think he wants it at the back feet.

:12:42. > :12:53.The referee talking to Laurel Duchamp at number eight. If he says

:12:54. > :13:06.use it, it's got to go. -- Loann Goujon at number eight.

:13:07. > :13:21.This is one of the problems in the scrum. The law says that nothing

:13:22. > :13:27.should happen, no forward or sideways moment -- movement until

:13:28. > :13:31.the ball is put in. Free kick, and it goes live. Spedding was called

:13:32. > :13:57.for and he caught it. -- it goes by. Yoann Maestri was only trying to

:13:58. > :14:03.help. I know, but you don't lift players are like that. I know it

:14:04. > :14:09.isn't what Dylan Hartley wants to hear, it didn't he use his arms in

:14:10. > :14:16.that tackle? Let's see. We are not in charge of the replay. They are

:14:17. > :14:19.not our pictures. I think it might be to do with what the linesman

:14:20. > :14:25.says. That might have something to do with it.

:14:26. > :14:35.Here we are. Start with his arms out. I'm not sure... Head to the

:14:36. > :14:49.knee. The captain may not be able to go up

:14:50. > :15:09.to receive the Grand Slam trophy, or the championship trophy.

:15:10. > :15:18.I think you are right, Mike, he did try to use his arms but the lights

:15:19. > :15:24.went out before he could. It is difficult. Atonio is a very big man.

:15:25. > :15:30.He is trying to beat him down but he has lost sight of why he is going to

:15:31. > :15:38.put his shoulders and he has put on me straight on top of his head.

:15:39. > :15:43.Becomes captain of England? Chris Robshaw. He'd probably say, no,

:15:44. > :15:52.thank you, very much! As back-up captains, they have made Brown and

:15:53. > :15:53.Farrell. Probably Owen Farrell. Owen Farrell has led the huddle

:15:54. > :16:29.discussion. Nigel Owens is asking about how it

:16:30. > :16:38.should be restarted. It's going to be an England scrum. What a time for

:16:39. > :16:46.a first scrum. As I point out on mocht occasions with these, when you

:16:47. > :16:51.have an extended period like this, you can't tell, but one side comes

:16:52. > :16:56.out more cogent and benefits from. It you don't know who it will be,

:16:57. > :16:59.but it will be very important. I'm surprised the players aren't doing

:17:00. > :17:03.more to keep warm out there. We need to keep everybody warm. Michael, are

:17:04. > :17:06.you warm enough? Definitely warm down here, there's no doubt about

:17:07. > :17:10.it. We're close to the play. At this stage of the game, it's funny how

:17:11. > :17:15.it's early on, there was a fair bit of ball movement. Now it's starting

:17:16. > :17:20.to get down to winning scrums, winning linouts and penalties. That

:17:21. > :17:23.shows how important the game is to both teams, for different reasons.

:17:24. > :17:26.It's going to be an interesting battle about how tight the game gets

:17:27. > :17:31.now and who can win that tight battle. England on 25 points, hasn't

:17:32. > :17:37.been an entirely lucky number for them. 25 against Wales, which cue

:17:38. > :17:42.the Welsh comeback. 25 points in the World Cup game against Wales. Don't

:17:43. > :17:49.need reminders of that. Well, not in England.

:17:50. > :17:57.Luke Cowan-Dickie is on as replacement hooker. Dylan Hartley

:17:58. > :18:01.makes his exit. There's going to be a big question over Cowan-Dickie.

:18:02. > :18:05.His line-out has come under pressure before. England's set piece has been

:18:06. > :18:11.fabulous today. It will be a lot of pressure. Need to be solid round our

:18:12. > :18:21.basics. England's line-out is 100% at the moment. After the stoppage

:18:22. > :18:27.for Dylan Hartley's attention, we are going to have a scrummage. It's

:18:28. > :18:35.going to be a good opportunity for England. We'll see as well, because

:18:36. > :18:39.Luke Cowan-Dickie doesn't really hook the ball. Eddie Jones has been

:18:40. > :18:46.asking his hookers to do that. Dylan Hartley has been doing that.

:18:47. > :18:49.If do you that and get the ball to the back, things like the Vunipola

:18:50. > :18:53.rumble for the England try for Watson can occur. If you don't, it

:18:54. > :19:00.gets stuck in the middle. It becomes a fight.

:19:01. > :19:07.How is that different from the last scrum? It's not any different. It's

:19:08. > :19:14.not to England's benefit to move the scrum before they put the ball in.

:19:15. > :19:18.Two front rows are going to have a lecture.

:19:19. > :19:21.Will you please listen. We've got a great game of rugby. The scrums are

:19:22. > :19:25.not going to spoil the rest of this game. Unless you sort it out, you

:19:26. > :19:31.will leave the field. It is as easy as that. Take the control on the

:19:32. > :19:38.set, control your set. Tell him. Because they will leave the field.

:19:39. > :19:41.He's quite right to do that. We haven't all come here to see people

:19:42. > :19:43.wandering around in scrums. He has to carry that through then if it

:19:44. > :20:54.continues. That could be a penalty to France. I

:20:55. > :20:57.think I'm right in saying Dan Cole is the most penalised of the England

:20:58. > :21:03.players. He is, though you just take into account he is in the front row

:21:04. > :21:05.as well. Bearing in mind that some of the penalties won't necessarily

:21:06. > :21:10.be his fault that are given against him. But there, he's taking the ball

:21:11. > :21:15.quite upright, goes to ground early. He's got to stay up early till his

:21:16. > :21:19.support comes because if they're not there, then you have to manufacture

:21:20. > :21:22.something. England have got caught in the position where they're not

:21:23. > :21:29.getting the ball away from their body. It's easier for the Jackals,

:21:30. > :21:46.the guys going over the ball to stay on and take the clear out hits with

:21:47. > :22:02.them. Loann Goujon is off. Wenceslas Lauret is on.

:22:03. > :22:40.Back for the penalty. I know there's no intent, but keep

:22:41. > :23:02.them down, please. This is a big call. You always go

:23:03. > :23:06.for this shot I-know he hasn't shot them all the time. There's the high

:23:07. > :23:27.tackle on Ben Youngs. The crucial thing about this, if it

:23:28. > :23:32.goes over, it is a converted try for France to draw even. An unconverted

:23:33. > :23:33.try would take them into the lead. There's that little bit of a

:23:34. > :23:59.cushion. It's over.

:24:00. > :24:05.Good calmness under pressure. Owen Farrell extends England's lead.

:24:06. > :24:09.England up to 28 points. The converted try would bring the scores

:24:10. > :24:17.level. It would be no Grand Slam with a draw.

:24:18. > :24:35.France can't get their hands on the ball at the moment.

:24:36. > :24:42.That's a good kick. Absolutely quality. Actually France knew where

:24:43. > :24:53.he was going there. They didn't have enough players to cover the

:24:54. > :24:59.territory. It was great ball flight. A really nice roll. Favourable

:25:00. > :25:03.bounce. It's typical of France this season that Machenaud and Lauret

:25:04. > :25:09.they didn't call for it, a bit of confusion. You've got to say, oh,

:25:10. > :25:19.another steal. George Kruis this time. ?

:25:20. > :25:25.Another three points here would be very useful. France come away with.

:25:26. > :25:54.It -- with it. England trying to keep the ball off

:25:55. > :26:23.the ground. They need a converted try to deny

:26:24. > :27:33.England the Grand Slam. Steady. If it turns out to be an

:27:34. > :27:38.England win, when you look back at this, I think you will find the

:27:39. > :27:43.line-out steals by Itoje, Kruis and the like have been absolutely

:27:44. > :27:46.pivotal in keeping France away from England's line and contributing to

:27:47. > :27:59.what and if it does happen, a victory for England.

:28:00. > :28:06.Chris Robshaw is going off. Jack Clifford comes on, one of the

:28:07. > :28:11.promising players of the future. Ross Moriarty came off for Wales

:28:12. > :28:38.this afternoon, an excellent game. Young back row forwards coming on.

:28:39. > :28:43.England could make this a four-minute maul. They don't need

:28:44. > :28:48.four minutes if they could get a try out of it.

:28:49. > :28:51.That's a penalty. Hauled right round the side.

:28:52. > :29:05.Three points here would be so sweet. Just wide. Penalty attempt though.

:29:06. > :29:34.Yellow card. And a yellow. That seals it, I would think. If

:29:35. > :29:42.this goes over, that seals it. England doing well in that driving

:29:43. > :29:46.maul to get a wider base. It does seem that France have run out of

:29:47. > :29:50.steam a bit. There have been fitness doubts all through the championship.

:29:51. > :29:54.They haven't really mounted any serious challenge in this last

:29:55. > :29:59.quarter. As I mention, any platform that they threatened to have in this

:30:00. > :30:04.half has regularly been ruined by England stealing the ball. That's

:30:05. > :30:08.both down to improsignificance on their part but very good work by

:30:09. > :30:13.England's second rows. I completely agree. England's penalties, they've

:30:14. > :30:18.created their own problems by a high penalty count. But they've solved

:30:19. > :30:23.them in the way that the line-out has functioned. That's probably

:30:24. > :30:26.getting them over the line. The performance shall they don't what --

:30:27. > :30:31.performance, they won't be that proud of. But it's done the job.

:30:32. > :30:37.England up to 31 points. The gap is ten points. Surely that is it.

:30:38. > :30:42.England are going to take that and people will say it's been a poor

:30:43. > :30:47.championship. I'm sure there will be niggly comments about it. Grand

:30:48. > :30:52.Slams are never easily won. They're always worth something. Three games

:30:53. > :30:56.on the road to doing the Grand Slam the hard way. Two games at

:30:57. > :31:09.Twickenham. That is where England want to be.

:31:10. > :31:20.The clock is running. A minute-and-a-half to go. England's

:31:21. > :31:24.first Grand Slam in 13 years. The other point if people are saying, it

:31:25. > :31:28.was an easy Grand Slam. You have to say, why didn't you win it then?

:31:29. > :31:44.There is no such thing. It's incredibly difficult to win.

:31:45. > :31:58.Spedding has been brilliant today. Vakatawa always brings something.

:31:59. > :32:08.Again the ball goes down. The game is going to end with an England put

:32:09. > :32:17.into the scrummage. They look weary out there. Lauret looks tired.

:32:18. > :32:22.France, though, the game is going to be lost. It hasn't been a great

:32:23. > :32:29.campaign for France. It has been such a recovery for England.

:32:30. > :32:34.Bitterness that went with the defeat in the World Cup, well, this has put

:32:35. > :32:38.themselves back together as quickly as possible, a Grand Slam in the Six

:32:39. > :32:43.Nations. From a supporters' point of view, I'm sure that they will

:32:44. > :32:49.understand the importance of this for future development, but the

:32:50. > :32:52.thing is, there is a lot more to come, Eddie Jones. They will know

:32:53. > :32:57.that. There are a lot of areas of improvement. But to achieve that as

:32:58. > :33:02.well, it just shows there's a lot of potential with this team. Let's not

:33:03. > :33:05.forget Stuart Lancaster in this. He must be at home wondering what if.

:33:06. > :33:10.The vast majority of the players that are here, he identified and

:33:11. > :33:16.took to a certain level, so he should take some satisfaction in

:33:17. > :33:21.this as well. We are into overtime. Mike, word on the Grand Slam? It's

:33:22. > :33:25.fantastic. What we talked about, as he kicks it out. You can see what it

:33:26. > :33:28.means to the players. They've obviously been through the heart

:33:29. > :33:37.break before. They can thoroughly enJo I this bit now. It is England's

:33:38. > :33:41.Grand Slam, five out of five in the Six Nations of 2016. It's not just

:33:42. > :33:46.five out of five, it comes after all the disappointment of their home

:33:47. > :33:52.World Cup of 2015. Eddie Jones, the new coach, said, "We want prizes."

:33:53. > :33:59.Well, he's won the first on offer. His England have won the Grand Slam

:34:00. > :34:09.in the Six Nations. The final score France 21, England 31.

:34:10. > :34:12.STUDIO: So Jerry, how much is this Grand Slam that man's? Eddie's

:34:13. > :34:15.inspired his team. That's what a coach is there to do. He's come up

:34:16. > :34:19.with really good tactics, good game plan. He's changed the leadership,

:34:20. > :34:22.which has worked. He's brought in vice captains, given them

:34:23. > :34:26.responsibility. They've grown up. I'd say that a lot of this side has

:34:27. > :34:30.played as well as they can and is still improving. That didn't happen

:34:31. > :34:34.so much in the previous four years. Those guys have really stepped up.

:34:35. > :34:41.They can be very pleased. The pain of missing out over the last few

:34:42. > :34:44.years is now put to bed and they're Grand Slam champions. A lot of

:34:45. > :34:50.people asking how Dylan Hartley is. We're trying to find out for you.

:34:51. > :34:52.Let's hear from Eddie Jones, the man who's Masterminded this Grand Slam.

:34:53. > :34:56.At the first time of asking, you've led England to a long awaited Grand

:34:57. > :35:00.Slam. How proud are you right now? I'm very proud of the boys. We

:35:01. > :35:03.weren't at our best today, but we battled through and really deserved

:35:04. > :35:07.the victory. It's a great achievement by the team. It all got

:35:08. > :35:12.very nervy towards the end. There was just two points in it. How

:35:13. > :35:16.anxious were you? Look, I always had confidence in the team. I thought if

:35:17. > :35:23.the first half we sat back a little bit, probably more worried about the

:35:24. > :35:26.result than playing. The second half, we were more positive. I

:35:27. > :35:30.gather Dylan Hartley is sitting up in the dressing room. He left the

:35:31. > :35:33.pitch on a stretcher. How influential has his leadership been,

:35:34. > :35:39.given some questioned his credentials as captain? He's done a

:35:40. > :35:43.really good job, fantastic. Billy Vunipola, Brown and Owen have done

:35:44. > :35:45.well supporting him and the other guys Haskell and Robshaw, that

:35:46. > :35:51.nucleus of the team has been very strong. How much does Steve

:35:52. > :35:57.Borthwick deserve a pat on the back, at times your line-out kept you in

:35:58. > :36:02.the game. The two assistant coaches have done a fantastic job. They're

:36:03. > :36:06.to be congratulated for their efforts. How improved has this group

:36:07. > :36:10.been in your mind, given what happened at the World Cup? The great

:36:11. > :36:13.thing is the best is ahead of us. We're looking forward to go to

:36:14. > :36:18.Australia now. We're only going to get better. Michael Checker is our

:36:19. > :36:21.guest this evening. Have you got a word for him? We're looking forward

:36:22. > :36:27.to see you in Australia! Many congratulations. Thanks very much.

:36:28. > :36:32.STUDIO: Are you shaking in your boots? Well, he'll give us a bit of

:36:33. > :36:36.a tongue whipping that's for sure. It's good see England playing good

:36:37. > :36:43.footy. That's what rugby's about, make the contest happen. The one

:36:44. > :36:46.thing that's important that everyone keep talking about, the World Cup is

:36:47. > :36:50.over. It's about getting onto the next thing. It's what we're thinking

:36:51. > :36:54.about as well. I gather that Owen Farrell can talk to us now. Let's go

:36:55. > :37:00.down to Sonia once more. Just describe the emotions as that

:37:01. > :37:04.final whistle blew. Brilliant. We set ourselves a goal at the start of

:37:05. > :37:10.the six nations to be the most dominant team in Europe. We've

:37:11. > :37:15.aKieved that goal. It weren't the best in the first half. We scored a

:37:16. > :37:17.couple of tries and were up. We came out there and showed character in

:37:18. > :37:21.the second half. I thought the boys were brilliant. Were there nerves

:37:22. > :37:27.out there as France kept slotting the penalties? No, we was focussed

:37:28. > :37:31.on our job. The right messages were being said out there. Everyone

:37:32. > :37:36.saying the right things. France are a good side, especially over here. I

:37:37. > :37:42.thought the boys weathered it well. How much does Eddie Jones deserve

:37:43. > :37:45.this? Everyone does. You know, this squad's been brilliant since we met

:37:46. > :37:49.up for the Six Nations. We've got better week on week and built on

:37:50. > :37:53.performances. We've got what we deserve after it. You remember the

:37:54. > :37:56.agony of the previous near misses, how special is this for England to

:37:57. > :38:01.finally get offer the line given what happened at the World Cup, just

:38:02. > :38:05.in the Autumn? Yeah, I'm just chuffed for the boys. There's a few

:38:06. > :38:09.that's been through a lot and there's new lads that's coming in

:38:10. > :38:15.and adding to the squad. I'm chuffed for everyone. You're lifting the

:38:16. > :38:19.trophy I think. Sip is here, he's up -- skip is here, he's up on his

:38:20. > :38:25.feet. I'm sure he'll lift it. I think we can see Dylan Hartley, you

:38:26. > :38:27.can see him, number two. He's out after his head injury assessment,

:38:28. > :38:32.after what looked a horrible collision. That's good news. Here is

:38:33. > :38:44.confirmation of how the RBS Six Nations finished:

:38:45. > :38:48.Let's hear from the man of the match.

:38:49. > :38:53.Billy, huge smiles from your team-mates. There's hugs all round,

:38:54. > :38:58.what does this mean to this group of players? It means a great deal. I'm

:38:59. > :39:01.a bit jealous I get to miss out on this, but I'm thankful for such a

:39:02. > :39:07.great bunch of guys. We've had a great eight weeks. To come out on

:39:08. > :39:12.top and win every game, after the World Cup, which no-one can forget

:39:13. > :39:15.about, I thank God for giving me the opportunity. It was hard fought out

:39:16. > :39:20.there. How tough was it this evening? I think you could hear how

:39:21. > :39:24.loud the crowd was and I'm sure they didn't want us, the French team

:39:25. > :39:27.didn't want us to come and win the Grand Slam on their home soil.

:39:28. > :39:31.That's credit to them. More credit goes to my team and the way we stood

:39:32. > :39:35.up to them in a tough first half. Eventually came out on top. Many

:39:36. > :39:38.congratulations. I can see you're bouncing. Well done. Thank you very

:39:39. > :40:12.much very ( verymuch ( England are showing us

:40:13. > :40:15.the way for glory. We are waiting for the presentation. The

:40:16. > :40:19.presentation party are ready. There isn't a Grand Slam trophy. But there

:40:20. > :40:26.is a championship trophy and England will get that. To win ugly is not a

:40:27. > :40:33.bad way to get your first Grand Slam. They're always generally hard

:40:34. > :40:36.to come by. Now they've gone across that line, these boys are going to

:40:37. > :40:40.get more confident, believe in themselves more. They have a tough

:40:41. > :40:45.tour ahead but boy they will grow on that one. Michael, everybody who is

:40:46. > :40:50.now, we're very close to the press boxes, can see people tapping away

:40:51. > :40:57.manically on their computers and they will write about Eddy Jones's

:40:58. > :41:00.contribution to England. This was Stuart Lancaster's squad that Eddie

:41:01. > :41:02.has manipulated a bit, is it possible to say how important he has

:41:03. > :41:15.been to this? Obviously, he's made a change

:41:16. > :41:19.straightaway. You can see that, got the scoreboard is saying five

:41:20. > :41:24.matches, five wins. Playing better footy, you know what I mean? It is a

:41:25. > :41:31.good state of mind for them and I think Eddie takes a look at credit

:41:32. > :41:34.for reinvigorating it. The presentation party is happening.

:41:35. > :41:42.Each England player is being named in turn. The chief executive of the

:41:43. > :41:46.Six Nations and Bill Beaumont, your dad, the most powerful man in world

:41:47. > :41:52.rugby and a former Grand Slam winner himself. When you look back, as all

:41:53. > :41:56.these players get their prices, and there is the man of the match, the

:41:57. > :42:01.roll of honour of England captains who have won Grand Slams. Norman

:42:02. > :42:06.Atherton Woodhouse, in the early days it was mandatory to have a

:42:07. > :42:15.double barrelled name. W J a Davis, Wavell Wakefield, Ronald: Smith,

:42:16. > :42:19.another double barrelled one, Eric Evans in 1957, Bill Beaumont,

:42:20. > :42:28.leading England to a Grand Slam in 1980, will Carling, Ryan maul, he

:42:29. > :42:33.was part will Carling's site in 1992 and Martin Johnson, 13 years ago.

:42:34. > :42:37.Dylan Hartley, he is back in one piece and he will be the man who

:42:38. > :42:41.lifts that trophy shortly. Big applause for Mike Brown, who has

:42:42. > :42:45.been a stall what for England on the field of play, but also off. You

:42:46. > :42:50.feel he is one of the talisman of this group, knitting them together

:42:51. > :42:56.in the aftermath of the World Cup. He said how angry he was after that.

:42:57. > :43:01.He has carried that positivity into the field of play over the course of

:43:02. > :43:06.the last six or seven weeks. There are still six or seven players to go

:43:07. > :43:11.up. Jerry, in terms of stating how important this is for English rugby,

:43:12. > :43:16.can you put that in some kind of context, given what happened six

:43:17. > :43:21.months ago? I agree with Michael that the World Cup is gone.

:43:22. > :43:25.Everybody is building towards the next one. They want to win and they

:43:26. > :43:30.want to improve. I think we have seen England at strength. The depth

:43:31. > :43:35.of the squad, talented players, competition for all of the places...

:43:36. > :43:41.The bench that comes on is very strong. This team are only going to

:43:42. > :43:45.get better. So much was written about whether Dylan Hartley was the

:43:46. > :43:51.right man to captain England, but here is the proof of the pudding, as

:43:52. > :43:57.Dylan Hartley receives his medal and lifts very shortly the championship,

:43:58. > :44:03.the RBS Six Nations championship but, more to the point, he is the

:44:04. > :44:04.first England captain since Martin Johnson to captain a Grand Slam

:44:05. > :44:28.winning England rugby team. We have just got a couple of

:44:29. > :44:31.moments, England celebrate. They will have a good night, because

:44:32. > :44:36.Eddie Jones will make sure that they do. A quick thought from our pundits

:44:37. > :44:42.about the events of the last seven weeks also. England Grand Slam

:44:43. > :44:46.champions, France finishing in the bottom of the table for the fifth

:44:47. > :44:51.year in a row. Wales, runners up. What is your take on what we have

:44:52. > :44:58.seen was to mark Reed I think it was a very good tournament. -- I think

:44:59. > :45:02.it was a very good tournament. Wales have been very consistent. England

:45:03. > :45:08.came back very strongly. I still believe they need a win in

:45:09. > :45:15.Australia, the southern hemisphere. These guys, they are the best. They

:45:16. > :45:21.need to do that to prove that they have improved. I have enjoyed the

:45:22. > :45:27.tournament, a lots of close matches. England have proved that you have to

:45:28. > :45:35.go out and have ambition to score tries. Defences are given. I think

:45:36. > :45:39.it has been a good tournament. Scotland is improving. Everybody is

:45:40. > :45:43.improving. I think the World Cup had something to do with that, because

:45:44. > :45:48.everybody was at a terrific level. It will be tough for us when we come

:45:49. > :45:53.here in November, that's for sure. Thank you to you and all of our

:45:54. > :45:58.technical crew who have done a magnificent job over the last few

:45:59. > :46:05.weeks. The victors, the spoils but England, who have won a Grand Slam

:46:06. > :46:08.for the first time 2003, when they won the World Cup. From all of us

:46:09. > :46:28.here, good night. George Kruis has scored for England.

:46:29. > :46:34.Ajax Norfolk border. England have won the World Cup once again. Mike

:46:35. > :46:42.Brown this time. England are moving clear at Twickenham. England have

:46:43. > :46:50.won. They have their third victory. Anthony Watson, and England in full

:46:51. > :46:59.control. England survive being challenged by Wales. And they stand

:47:00. > :47:09.over Britain, the first Grand Slam and 2003. This is why Danny Care has

:47:10. > :47:10.been picked. Watson for England. Is that the try that