That winning Eddie Jones elixir sees off the French and their re-found panache

England weren't at their best but in Eddie Jones they have a coach whose habit for winning is unshakeable

Eddie Jones took his side to victory, even when they didn't play at their peak (Getty )

It seems a lifetime ago that Stuart Lancaster and Chris Robshaw sat in a state of near speechless dejection in the temporary press conference room here, to discuss England’s elimination from the World Cup tournament which was supposed to be their party. It was October 2015 and they have now not lost in 15 Tests since.

What we witnessed in the final reckoning, as their winning run went on, was the strength in depth which the players had been talking about all week. Eddie Jones seemed slightly affronted by the idea that the Vunipola brothers’ and Robshaw’s absence would do serious damage and yet they missed them desperately. It was the substitutes who turned the situation in the final reckoning. They provided the architecture of the match-defining England try as well as the touch down. James Haskell and Jack Nowell delivered the critical yards. Owen Farrell drew Gael Fickou inside and some positional naievity from Noa Nakaitaci allowed Ben Te’o in.

But it also took the edge that Jones has delivered to this team to make them winners.

The shattering memory of that 2015 World Cup was the later penalty chance against the Welsh in which Robshaw’s flawed thought processes contributed to a disastrous line-out opportunity. It crystalised the hesitancy and indecisiveness of Lancaster’s England. That resides in the side no more. The impressive aspect of England’s most hard fought win under Jones was the resolve and presence of mind. There was no panic as he ball was recycled in front of the try line for long minutes before the breakthrough came. There were leaders. Just before the end, Farrell was commanding Jonny May to press higher and he moved to 10 when George Ford left the field. “I’m not going to say much about the English,” the French coach Guy Noves said on Saturday night. ”I respect the English. Their team was better. Their morale was better.” The supposition always was that the last half hour would bring France’s moment of vulnerability. They were certainly beginning to blow, by then.

The struggles beforehand underlined that challenge that next weekend in Cardiff will bring for England. Jones’ sides seem prone to starting games poorly but we had seen nothing quite like this. At its lowest point – Dylan Hartley throwing line-out ball straight into Courtney Lawes’ back – it was almost comedic. Frequent passes went astray. We were also given flashes of the French adventure of old, in the presence of Baptiste Serin and Louis Picamoles. Jones’ talk had turned a few days ago to the great old French sides of swagger and sophistication, before the nation’s rugby had lost its way; of Philippe Sella, Philippe Saint-Andre, the ones he recalled. “They used to move the ball beautifully - not text-book like – but they’d run great lines,” Jones said. It was hard to think that Jones’ thoughts reflected what we would really see when the English Six Nations campaign got under way. Coaches don’t talk up teams they fear.

Teo's try proved decisive for England at Twickenham (Getty Images)

But Jones found himself in alien territory: overlooking his England side being smashed in the forward line, subsequently unable to command ball and in a process of cause and effect subsequently unable to release George Ford and Owen Farrell. The moments which thrilled came from those in blue jerseys – for 40 minutes Picamoles making more ground than the entire England pack by half time. Nathan Hughes was no Billy Vunipola. Scott Spedding and Virimi Vakawata were providing some evidence that rumours of this France side actually recapturing old panache were not exaggerated. The stadium held its collective breath in the first half’s closing minutes as a lofted French pass to the right flank was despatched, looking to have ‘try’ written all over it if it could be gathered up. By then, a Spedding run – his second across 20 yards - had just taken him into the heart of English territory. The French connected. There were even strains of ‘Allez les bleus’.

Jones had no real explanation for this. “We were off the pace. We fell back into club habits,” he said afterwards. There was a vision of what possession could bring when Ford and Farrell finally managed a link-up, Ford ghosting through space with the faint dummy before releasing Farrell, with Jonny May on the overlap. Noa Nakaitaci’s attentions were enough to force May’s foot onto the touch line as went over the try line. Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury and Maro Itoje did begin to draw Farrell and Ford into the games in the second half. But it was the substitutes Jones name-checked last night. “The bench really made a difference,” he said, acknowledging how much Haskell had a delivered and admitting that Te’o was pushing to start.

The game’s balance also shifted because France could not maintain their level and Jones knew it. His press conference was painfully brief for a man who had just set a record.