France

Cédric Heymans 6/10 Club: Toulouse Caps: 40 How hard he tried to make inroads from the back, and how consistently he was hounded out of the action

Aurèlien Rougerie 6/10 Club: Clermont Caps: 54 It was all very well sending the ball out to him, but none of the groundwork had been done

David Marty 7/10 Club: Perpignan Caps: 22 The poor man spent his whole evening trying to clear up the mess, and how well he coped

Damien Traille 7/10 Club: Biarritz Caps: 61 The great centre was reduced to hopeful hoofi ng and trying to run a kindergarten in the French back-line 6/10

Vincent Clerc Club: Toulouse Caps: 31 Suddenly, the space in which he had been operating in the season to date was closed down and he had nowhere to run 4/10

Francois Trinh-Ducm 4/10 Club: Montpellier Caps: 3 Why? It is silly to celebrate a few half-breaks when the lack of authority was total

Morgan Parra 4/10 Club: Bourgoin Caps: 3 He lacked the physique, authority and all-round game for an under21 match, let alone this confrontation of giants

Lionel Faure 6/10 Club: Sale Caps: 3 In a pack that was well constructed, he might have had half a chance. In this bunch, none at all

Dimitri Szarzewski 6/10 Club: Stade Français Caps: 25 In a team going forward, he can often be devastating and ebullient, here he was only fi tful

Nicolas Mas 5/10 Club: Perpignan Caps: 17 The referee took exception to him, and it was not as if, against Sheridan, he did not have enough bother

Lionel Nallet 4/10 Club: Castres Caps: 35 He was only ever a journeyman lock, now he is promoted above his station as captain and kingpin, and can do neither

Pascal Papé 5/10 Club: Stade Français Caps: 20 Disappointing. This is a pedigree lock, but he was lost in a selection that was barking and it showed

Julien Bonnaire 5/10 Club: Clermont Caps: 40 Decent, although a player of his sort needs big men around him rather than this shower

Thierry Dusautoir 8/10 Club: Toulouse Caps: 13 A diamond, the one man prepared to put in some heavy groundwork before expecting to be able to ponce about

Louis Picamoles 2/10 Club: Montpellier Caps: 2 Diffi cult problem here. How on earth can you give a mark to a young lad that you never see?

Replacements 5/10 At least they had a little experience there, but Lièvremont merely bunged people on and off willy nilly, without any strategy or gameplan visible

England

Iain Balshaw 5/10 Shaky. He missed one ball by a mile and offered very little when running from the back

Paul Sackey 7/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 13 As ever, alert and sharp, and took his try in typical fashion. He has proved a great plus for England

Jamie Noon 6/10 Club: Newcastle Caps: 29 Played a major, if fortuitous, part in Sackey’s try, and far from the worst on display

Toby Flood 5/10 Club: Newcastle Caps: 15 Although there was some quick ball, he did not make the plays that he was out there to make

Lesley Vainikolo 5/10 Club: Gloucester Caps: 3 At last, they used him up the middle, although he never accelerated beyond a lumber

Jonny Wilkinson 7/10 Club: Newcastle Caps: 68 Here was more assurance, some vital goals and a port in a storm when England needed him

Richard Wigglesworth 7/10 Club: Sale Caps: 2 A thoroughly worthy fi rst start, marked by the odd mistake, but also by the clinching try

Andrew Sheridan 8/10 Club: Sale Caps: 22 Monstrous, and what was so striking about him was his work-rate around the fringes

Mark Regan 5/10 Club: Bristol Caps: 46 Not effective, and dragged off once he had conceded a silly penalty in the second half

Phil Vickery 8/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 62 Superb, running in the odd wide channels and a top quality performance from the captain

Simon Shaw 7/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 46 Probably not as heavily involved as he can be, but certainly enjoyed the new forward focus

Steve Borthwick 8/10 Club: Bath Caps: 35 The last two games constitute his best in the England jersey, thoroughly conspicuous in lineout and loose

James Haskell 6/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 5 He will be spitting nails that his injury cost him most of a game in which he could have thrived

Michael Lipman 8/10 Club: Bath Caps: 5 In the shaker for England’s outstanding player, really powerful and clever on the fringes

Nick Easter 8/10 Club: Harlequins Caps: 14 A colossal improvement on Rome, far more authoritative than the disappointing Picamoles opposite

Replacements 8/10 Good reinforcement here, with Tom Croft showing some of his large range of talent and Messrs Stevens and Kay arriving to close out the game