They saved the most spectacular game of this season’s Six Nations until last. When the final whistle sounded on a quite extraordinarily vivid spectacle in Lyon it left France in second place in the table with England below them in third but, in truth, that felt like a trivial detail. The abiding memory will be the quality of the entertainment served up by two sides who utterly refused to bend the knee.
Set aside the fact, for a moment, that this year’s Six Nations trophy has been claimed by Ireland. Because it is also true that the most sparkling memories in the final two rounds involved an English side who, in the process, have gone a long way towards restoring their supporters’ faith. Another stunning comeback, this time from 16-3 down after 39 minutes, could not quite yield a fourth win from five games but this was further evidence to suggest England’s progress is real enough.
