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Saturday, 15 February, 2003, 22:54 GMT
England 25-17 France
All the action from Twickenham.


England get their Six Nations ambitions off to a solid start with a comfortable victory against France courtesy of a try by Jason Robinson and 20 points by fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.


Minute-by-minute updates:

Full-time: The whistle finally goes after 13 minutes of injury time. England hold on for the win.

80 mins +12: Martin Johnson is penalised for punching.

80 mins +10: Ridiculously injury time continues after a high tackle by Will Greenwood on Thomas Castaignede.

80 mins +8: France go for what must be their last chance. They have a scrum just off the halfway line.

80 mins +7: Richard Hill produces arguably the pass of the day with a delightful pop-up ball on the attack.

80 mins +5: Ben Cohen unleashes a kick on the break to ease the late pressure on England. Danny Grewcock comes on for Ben Kay.

80 mins +4: Thomas Castaignede is on the break again but it could all be too late for his countrymen.

80 mins +2: England 25-17 France Damien Traille scores for France. He burrows his way into the corner and just manages to ground the ball before being rattled into touch. He misses the conversion.

80 mins +1: Ben Cohen produces an excellent smother tackle to bring down Xavier Garbajosa. But it leads to a penalty to France.

79 mins: England find themselves camped deep on their own line. A Steve Thompson throw to captain Martin Johnson steers them out of trouble.

77 mins: France are trying too hard to find a way through. It results in them conceding a scrum without even a modicum of English pressure.

76 mins: Again Merceron produces a shambles of a spot kick.

75 mins: White is penalised for bringing down the scrum. Bizarrely Merceron chooses to go for the three points.

74 mins: A passage of breaks by both sides ends in a scrum to England, giving both sides an opportunity for a rare breather. It allows Rue come on for Ibanez.

71 mins: Thompson tries his own chip and chase - one of the rarer sights in world rugby. It wins him a lineout.

70 mins: Castaignede has revitalised France. A darting run is only marred when he fails to get to grips with his own up-and-under.

67 mins: England 25-12 France
Clement Poitrenaud finally gets France back into the game, making the most of an overlap and sliding into the far corner - their first points for 50 minutes. Merceron fluffs the kick.

66 mins: Thomas Castaignede almost scores with his first touch of the day but he knocks the ball on.

64 mins: England 25-7 France
Marconnet and Castaignede come on as replacements but their arrival is merely met with an inch-perfect Wilkinson drop goal.

63 mins: England's breaks over the French gain line are getting all the more regular. Neil Back and Julian White are the latest tormentors-in-chief.

61 mins: France find space for the first time in an age, Fabien Galthie and Olivier Magne running into some sizeable gaps. But it all ends in an England turnover and a penalty.

59 mins: England 22-7 France
A penalty to England for French offside. Needless to say, Jonny Wilkinson finds the target. He passes the 600-point mark in international rugby in the process.

57 mins: Confidence is building for the English as Andy Gomarsall slides his way along the right-hand touchline. He is eventually halted. Rowntree comes back on the field.

56 mins: England's white shirts are quickly on to a series of French counter attacks. The pressure results in Olivier Magne booting the ball straight into touch for an England throw-in.

54 mins: France are taking risks to get back into the game and with some success. Despite a clever Fabien Galthie pass, England's defence is resolute.

52 mins: England look a different side to the unsure outfit of the first half.

49 mins: England 19-7 France
Ben Cohen cuts in from the wing and leaves France reeling. Martin Johnson follows suit and, as the ball is recycled, Will Greenwood sends a sweet pass to Jason Robinson who touches down with ease. Jonny Wilkinson converts.

48 mins: England spread the ball nicely - first Wilkinson to Robinson and then Wilkinson to Hodgson. France just about hold firm but they are beginning to crack.

47 mins: Mark Regan comes on for a bloody Graham Rowntree. The referee calls for uncontested scrums.

46 mins: Hooker Steve Thompson shows surprising agility and balance to stay on his feet and pirouette through France's defence.

45 mins: An injured Lewis Moody is replaced by Lawrence Dallaglio.

43 mins: Charlie Hodgson puts up a kick of his own crossfield but Luger knocks it forward. England are looking more creative now.

42 mins: An enormous up and under by Jonny Wilkinson heads towards Clement Poitrenaud. The on-coming defenders cause him to knock the ball forward. Scrum to England.

41 mins: Gerald Merceron kicks off the second half and Will Greenwood batters the ball right back at him.


Half-time: Both sides have failed to produce the magic of last year's match so far. England can consider themselves lucky to be in front.

40 mins +2: England 12-7 France:
Wilkinson converts a fourth penalty before the whistle.

40 mins: A rare Jonny Wilkinson spill typifies England's inability to stamp their authority on the game. By way of an apology he smashes a penalty into touch to set up a final attack.

39 mins: Charlie Hodgson has a chance to send Will Greenwood through for five points but goes for the glory and is ingloriously felled.

37 mins: Andy Gomarsall takes a quick tap penalty. He lays off to Will Greenwood whose sniping run fails to fox the French and a missed opportunity goes begging.

35 mins: Jason Robinson almost finds his way to the line with a massive boot, but Clement Poitrenaud beats him to the ball. Some lovely invention from England's full-back though.

33 mins: Gerald Merceron takes his first penalty but makes an absolute hash of it. Jason Leonard's 100th cap, meanwhile, is over because of injury. Graham Rowntree takes his place.

32 mins: Jason Leonard is getting treatment for his knee.

31 mins: The referee plays a long advantage for France but, for all their efforts, they cannot do anything with it. He duly awards a penalty.

29 mins: England 9-7 France
Wilkinson makes it three out of three.

28 mins: More French indiscipline brings a further chance for England points.

27 mins: The referee gives Jean-Jacques Crenca a final warning for pushing at an angle in the scrum. He escapes a sin-binning, though.

25 mins: The game is proving to be an increasingly stuttering, scrappy display. Neither side is properly clicking as yet. France are marginally more assured.

23 mins: Hodgson charges Imanol Harinordoquy into touch with a superb tackle, much to the delight of England boss Clive Woodward.

21 mins: England's defence is looking more solid now. France have been in possession for the last few minutes but seem to be going backwards.

19 mins: England 6-7 France
France's front row are unfairly penalised in the scrum. Once again Jonny Wilkinson makes no mistake with the spot kick.

17 mins: England 3-7 France
Magne immediately makes amends for his foul with a poached try. He charges down a very lazily attempted clearance by Charlie Hodgson, just grasps the rebound and touches down. Gerald Merceron adds the extra two points.

15 mins: England 3-0 France
Wilkinson lands a sublime penalty.

14 mins: Wilkinson has a chance for the afternoon's first points after the French needlessly give a penalty away in a lineout. Magne is the villain this time.

12 mins: The referee looks set for a fractious afternoon. Martin Johnson is the latest player penalised for the illegal use of his arm.

11 mins: A passage of inspiration by the French ends in disarray courtesy of some wayward Gallic passing. Richard Hill makes the interception and Jonny Wilkinson sets up a lineout with a delicate chip ahead.

9 mins: Julian White and Jean-Jacques Crenca both face up to each other after a fracas in the scrum. Referee Paul Honiss sides with White.

8 mins: France have a lineout deep in English territory after Steve Thompson encroaches offside. The French waste it by accidental offside. Scrum to England.

6 mins: The cold conditions are affecting handling as both teams spill the ball in quick succession. England find themselves under pressure as a result.

5 mins: A pointless exchange of kicks results in a lineout for France, which Ben Kay wins.

3 mins: Dan Luger shows few signs of his injury problems of earlier in the season as he breaches the French line. But he concedes a penalty after holding on to the ball on the ground.

2 mins: Damien Traille recovers well from his own 22 to boot the ball out of danger after a dire Fabien Galthie pass.

1 min: Jason Robinson makes an early piercing run through the French back division.

1604GMT: Jonny Wilkinson kicks off for England into the hands of Olivier Magne.


Teams:

England: J Robinson; D Luger, W Greenwood, C Hodgson, B Cohen; J Wilkinson, M Dawson; J Leonard, S Thompson, J White, M Johnson (capt), B Kay, L Moody, N Back, R Hill.
Replacements: M Regan, G Rowntree, D Grewcock, L Dallaglio, A Gomarsall, P Christophers, J Simpson-Daniel.

France: C Poitrenaud; A Rougerie, X Garbajosa, D Traille, V Clerc; G Merceron, F Galthie (capt); J-J Crenca, R Ibanez, C Califano, O Brouzet, F Pelous, S Betsen, O Magne, I Harinordoquy.
Replacements: S Marconnet, J-B Rué, D Auradou, S Chabal, D Yachvili, F Gélez, T Castaignède.


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