France 33-31 England: Six Nations player ratings from Lyon

France

Léo Barré Electric. Produced a stunning dummy and flicked pass inside for Le Garrec’s opening try and on hand to finish off one of his own. 8

Damian Penaud Gloriously unpredictable - at times it looks like he doesn’t even know which way he’ll go - but of course he was in just the right place to receive Ramos’s fly-hack. 9

Gaël Fickou Determined to enjoy himself with an early through-the-legs pass. Let Lawrence in far too easily but scored a key, opportunist try. 7

Nicolas Depoortère His handling let him down with a knock-on as France looked to build an attack and defensively not great. Not his best performance to date. 6

Louis Bielle-Biarrey Almost beat Smith to the ball in long foot race but didn’t get much opportunity to showcase his fleetness of foot thereafter. 6

Thomas Ramos Goal-kicking was on the money - had ice running through veins when lining up final kick - but his defence left something to be desired. Showed footballing skills for Fickou’s try. 8

Nolann Le Garrec No 30-metre reverse passes this week but buzzed around throughout. Booed a few times when slowing things down at the ruck - but not as loudly as Mitchell. 8

Cyril Baille Turned over Smith and played an important part in France’s dominant maul. Honours even - or perhaps just in England’s favour - at scrum time though. 7

Julien Marchand Not able to influence proceedings with ball in hand as he so often does and his lineout throwing was not perfect either. 6

Uini Atonio Shows such deft hands for someone of his size but makes his presence felt too with his big hits and heavyweight carrying. 8

Thibaud Flament Lots of unseen work from the one-time Wasps forward and whenever the French pack got on top, he was never far from the action. 6

Emmanuel Meafou A colossus. He shoved Earl aside, then Itoje got the same treatment a few minutes later, and he came up with a big turnover too but could not last the pace. 8

François Cros Pinched the lineout which sparked the move for Le Garrec’s try and thundered around the field all night long. 8

Charles Ollivon Had a gallop through the heart of England’s defence in the first half and stepped up when France found themselves eight points behind. 7

Gregory Alldritt (capt) Lots of hard yards including one carry that punched a hole in England’s defence. A real captain’s innings in face of English resistance. 8

Replacements: Peato Mauvaka (for Marchand 48) 7; Sébastien Taofifénua (for Baille 48) 6; Georges-Henri Colombe (for Atonio 60) 7; Romain Taofifénua (for Meafou 48) 7; Alexandre Roumat (for Ollivon 60) 7; Paul Boudehent (for Alldritt 70) n/a; Maxime Lucu (for Le Garrec 67) 6; Yoram Moefana (for Depoortère 60) 7

England

George Furbank Lasted less than eight minutes before picking up a calf injury that led to Smith’s introduction far earlier than anticipated. n/a

Tommy Freeman Some excellent breaks but threw a poor pass over Mitchell’s head to waste a chance. Showed finishing instinct when it mattered. 7

Henry Slade Set up Lawrence’s first try and fizzed a fine pass to Freeman in buildup to his centre partner’s second. Has improved as competition wore on. 7

Ollie Lawrence Big collision with Penaud and then made a key tackle on the winger soon after. Ran a fine line to give England a huge boost just before half-time and pounced again just after. 8

Elliot Daly Not all that effective when chasing kicks and slipped at the crucial moment for Fickou’s try. Tidied up at the back well a couple of times. 6

George Ford Provided the cool head that England needed amid first-half pressure. Lovely tip-on for Freeman’s try and no questioning his goal-kicking this week. 8

Alex Mitchell Early treatment to left hand had an impact. Fumbled the ball once, flung a pass at Slade’s feet and didn’t look comfortable. Solideried on though. 6

Ellis Genge Mixed bag. Gave away a penalty but won one back at scrum time. Showed lovely soft hands to release Earl. 7

Jamie George Takes huge credit for the way England stayed in the fight and then roared back. Leadership was missed when he went off. Has conducted himself so well throughout the tournament.. 7

Dan Cole One carry for a total of no metres but is in the side to hold up his end of the scrum and he did that effectively. 6

Maro Itoje Trademark spoiling presence early on. Had his work cut out against such a powerful second row. 6

George Martin Slipped off Alldritt in the first half and not as conspicuous as last week, but did make a few big hits. Made himself a lineout nuisance too.. 6

Ollie Chessum Big hit on Le Garrec - one of 11 first-half tackles - as he picked up from where he left off last week. Constantly receiving treatment but lasted best part of an hour. 8

Sam Underhill Shared a monumental workload with his fellow back-rowers and made one piercing linebreak too. Emptied the tank. 7

Ben Earl Kept England in it at times with his tenacity and made the break for Smith’s try. Gave away costly penalty but a decent shout for player of the tournament - certainly England’s best. 7

Replacements: Theo Dan (for George 50) Lineout wobbles 5; Joe Marler (for Genge 50) Solid 6; Will Stuart (for Cole 50) Got stuck in 6; Ethan Roots (for Chessum 55) 6; Alex Dombrandt (for Underhill 67) n/a; Danny Care (for Mitchell 70) Upped tempo 6; Marcus Smith (for Furbank 8) Excellent 8; Manu Tuilagi (for Slade 60) 7