Jonny May hat-trick sends England top of the Six Nations in style
Re-live the action from the Six Nations clash at Twickenham
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Your support makes all the difference.Re-live all the action as England routed France 44-8 on Sunday afternoon in a one-sided 'Le Crunch' and go top of the Six Nations table with a maximum 10 points from 10..
Jonny May set the tone with a 30-minute hat-trick of tries that got England flying out of the blocks, with Henry Slade sealing the bonus point before the break. France responded at least with a Damian Penaud try before half-time, but they were kept pointless in the second half in one of their most embarrassing displays seen at Twickenham.
At least their defence improved after the break, though they could not stop the scoring as England were first awarded a penaty try before Owen Farrell crossed to complete the scoring. Follow the live updates below.
What time does it start?
England vs France kicks off at 3pm (GMT) on Sunday February 10.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on ITV from 2.15pm (GMT).
Teams
England: Elliot Daly; Chris Ashton, Henry Slade, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny May; Owen Farrell (capt), Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler; Courtney Lawes, George Kruis; Mark Wilson, Tom Curry, Billy Vunipola
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dan Cole, Ben Moon, Joe Launchbury, Nathan Hughes, Dan Robson, George Ford, Jack Nowell
France: Yoann Huget; Damian Penaud, Geoffrey Doumayrou, Mathieu Bastareaud, Gael Fickou; Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra; Jefferson Poirot, Guilhem Guirado, Demba Bamba; Felix Lambey, Sebastien Vahaamahina; Yacouba Camara, Arthur Iturria, Louis Picamoles.
Replacements: Pierre Bourgarit, Dany Priso, Dorian Aldegheri, Paul Willemse, Gregory Alldritt, Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, Thomas Ramos
Form guide
England: WWLWWW
France: LLLWLL
Head-to-head
France 22 (Pen try) England 16 (May), Six Nations, March 2018
England 19 (Te’o) France 16 (Slimani), Six Nations, February 2017
France 21 England 31 (Care, Cole, Watson), Six Nations, March 2016
Odds
England to win: 1/8
France to win: 11/2
Draw: 33/1
(Odds provided by Betfair)
Prediction
England by seven: France will not be blown away as easily as many have suggested, but it’s hard to see where Brunel’s side will dominate at a stadium where they have not beaten England since 2005. If England can produce a similar performance to that in Dublin last weekend, they will romp to victory. But if they falter, France will be there to pick up the pieces.
23 mins: England do go for the blindside and Daly kicks again, trying to pin Penaud back. May chases hard and traps his opposite man on his line, but France do well to recycle and kick clear.
England secure the lineout and are on the attack...
24 mins: There's just no keeping Jonny May quiet. England attack hard through the middle fo the pitch, Tuilagi and Curry carrying well, and spotting space on the blindside, Farrell wraps around the ruck to take the pass from Youngs. He whips a miss-pass out to May but the wing has to stop in his tracks toi collect it, allowing Penaud onto him. That won't stop the Leicester wing though as he shimmies one way, then the other before going around him to score in the corner. Farrell's conversion hits the right upright. 16-3
29 mins: England break the line but France do well to recover their composure in defence and force England back. Out of ideas, Slade sends up a high ball and it's spilled...TRY FOR ENGLAND!
30 mins: It's the Jonny May show! Parra drops the high kick forwards into the hands of Ashton, and he wisely chips in behind Penaud with Huget nowhere to be seen that allows May - who else - to race onto the ball and slide over the line to score. France's back three are all over the place at the moment, and they urgently need to sort themselves out or this could be embarrassing. Farrell lands his first conversion of the day. 23-3
35 mins: Well, well, well. Talk about the stereotypical French. At sixes and sevens defensively, they suddeny create a try out of nothing - and what a try it was. Huget collects the ball deep and goes wide, beating poor tackle attempts by Tuilagi and Ashton, and as he sucks in Daly he passes right to Damian Penaud, who just outpaces Ashton and scores cleanly in the corner. Parra misses the conversion but that's what we want to see from the French! 23-8
Half-time: It's a fourth before the break that secures the bonus point with an entire half still to play! Yet again it comes from a smart kick in behind that France fail to cover, allowing Ashton to chase onto the ball and come within a whisker of scoring it himself. The ball is recycled as Sinckler plays scrum-half with a long pass to Henry Slade, who simply steps once inside Guirado and goes over for his third try in two weeks.
What a sublime half from England, and the Penaud try aside, it has been one-way traffic. For France, it's been embarrassing.
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