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Saturday, 26 February 2011

England vs France match review.

England coach Marc Lievremont acclaimed England as the best team in the northern hemisphere on Saturday after the defending Six Nations champions came up short in the key match of the championship at Twickenham.
While England team manager Martin Johnson refused to even contemplate the possibility of a grand slam for his team after a hard-fought 17-9 victory, Lievremont had no such reservations.
"England are the best team in the northern hemisphere at the moment," Lievremont told a news conference. "The path to the grand slam is wide open."
France, who won the grand slam themselves last year, battled hard throughout after a nervous start.
They lost the first lineout of the match on their throw and were penalised at the first scrum after their pack was disrupted by the England eight.
After back-pedalling in the opening 10 minutes, the French fought back to tie the score 9-9 at halftime and could have taken the lead if Dimitri Yachvili had converted a fourth penalty just before the interval.
A storming period immediately after the break by the home side, resulting in a try for fullback Ben Foden, proved the turning point.
"That was the key," said Lievremont. "We didn't start very well. It was a very close game but at the start of the second half we weren't good enough.
"When England scored, the French didn't react well and they (England) were very close to scoring another try."

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