FRANCE, denuded by injuries, were caught like rabbits in England’s headlights on a long evening in Paris and provided woefully inadequate opposition for Tony Smith’s new-look side.

There was plenty to admire in the confidence that surged through an England side featuring only seven survivors from the rugby league World Cup failure in Australia, though the French were a shambles.

France are supposed to be rebuilding from their own World Cup debacle under the unlikely figure of Bobbie Goulding, a former Great Britain scrum-half, towards the autumn’s Four Nations competition against England, Australia and world champions New Zealand. But this was a huge setback for Goulding, whose only saving grace is that he should be better placed by then if the seven players missing here have returned.

England’s sprightly new appearance was personified by 19-year-old scrum-half Richard Myler, who rewrote the record books on a night when England narrowly failed to beat their previous biggest win against France in Gateshead 13 years ago, 73-6. Myler contributed three tries and nine goals, his 30-point haul surpassing Steve Prescott’s 22 points against the French in the 1996 match. To talk of how well he might do against the Kangaroos and Kiwis is to make a quantam leap but this was a hugely impressive step forward by the teenager, who was a deserving man of the match.

For all of six minutes, France looked faintly competitive. Their captain, Jerome Guisset, put in a lung-busting drive and the crowd rose to their feet. Everything promptly fell apart once Ryan Atkins scythed over for the opening try. The signs of panic in the French ranks were palpable and England were persistent in their ruthless exploitation, racking up eight first-half tries with contemptuous ease and four more after the break.

Despite some half-hearted cries for the home team, generous Parisian applause greeted England’s pyrotechnics. Their second try featured a series of ball shifts the length of the field, with Shaun Briscoe and Scott Moore combining to put Danny McGuire over. McGuire was the pivot for Myler’s first try, which featured support from the rampaging Sam Burgess.

When Constant Villegas sent the restart out on the full, Myler grabbed his second try in two minutes after a great offload by the captain Jamie Peacock and England were 24-0 in 16 whirlwind minutes.

While the French players were struggling for breath in the warmth and from the mugging they were being subjected to, England were unrelenting. The slight Myler withstood a clattering challenge by Jean-Philippe Baille, who came off worse in the tackle, to help set up the next try by Peter Fox out on the right. Before McGuire was withdrawn after a bang on the elbow, he linked with Ryan Hall on the left for the Leeds wing’s debut score.

There was a 10-minute respite before two tries in three minutes by Briscoe to make the half-time score 44-0. The full-back had a try ruled out by the video officials, then sold the beleaguered French defence three dummies and sailed over. He was on the end of a flowing move by Adrian Morley and Gareth Hock in completing the first-half rout.

France at least scored the first try of the second period, Baille diving to reach Thomas Bosc’s lofted kick. But James Roby swiftly replied, Myler broke away for his hat-trick score and put Burgess over for another. Fox claimed his second before Cyrille Gossard pinched a consolation score for the dejected French in the closing minutes.

Star man: Richard Myler (England)

Scorers: France: Tries: Baille, Gossard. Conversions: Bosc (2)

England: Tries: Atkins, McGuire, Myler (3), Fox (2), Hall, Briscoe (2), Roby, Burgess. Conversions: Myler (9)

Referee: J Maxwell (Australia)

Attendance: 7,369

FRANCE: C Villeagas, F Vaccari, J-P Baile, S Planas, V Duport; T Bosc M Murcia; R Casty, K Bentley, J Guisset (capt), C Gossard, C Mounis, E Anselme.

ENGLAND: S Briscoe; P Fox, M Shenton, R Atkins, R Hall, D McGuire, R Myler; A Morley, S Moore, J Peacock (capt), B Westwood, G Hock, S Burgess.