6 Nations

Minute-by-minute report: 'Le Crunch' returns with this year's edition at Twickenham. Join Lee Calvert.

The first penalty of the match for England is despatched to touch on the France 22 by Smith. Marchand goes over the top of the lineout to Fickou, but the contact skills are poor from France and the ball is back in England hands around halfway. Smith has a short dart into the France 22 and the fast recycle finds Malins who nudges the ball with his toe into touch near the goal-line. England are disorganised in backfield and Dupont, eyes like a stocky hawk, spots this and blooters a left footed 50:22 from the base of the ruck to give his side a lineout deep in England territory. From the scrum, England finally get some quicker ball from the breakdown, but the French defence covers the phases well. A horrible restart drill from England leaves Dombrandt isolated and a huge French counter-ruck wins a penalty. The England forwards go hard at the France pack in the scrum. The scrum completes with England trying a similar move to that which led to a try vs Wales via the inside pop to Malins. France hammer the England tacklers, but again the home side are up to it, but the blue waves continue to come as the visitors’ dominance is reasserted. The ball comes loose as Smith releases it and England do nothing with it so Ollivon reaches over to press down on the ball. Itoje nabs the ball in the breakdown and puts England on the attack before the ball is lost in the French 22. As the clock ticks into the red, France have a pen on their 5m line.

Wales player ratings: Warren Gatland's Wales have been under fire so far this tournament, not favoured to win a basement battle with Italy.

[Dillon Lewis](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/dillon-lewis/) – 6.5 Cleaned up a lot of mess brilliantly including a late Italian lineout. Beard’s best performance for Wales in a while. [Dafydd Jenkins](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/dafydd-jenkins/) – 6.5 Fantastic to see Webb have a good game. Nailed an awesome 50/22 at the end of the first half. Timed a pass to Adams beautifully for a second-half break. Defensively very solid against one of the fastest attacking teams in the tournament. [Josh Adams](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/josh-adams/) – 6.5 Williams needed a solid performance and he delivered. Their performance against England was difficult to quantify, with Italy playing well but not winning – yet… Wales responded with an excellent performance and an unexpected bonus point win.

England crash to record 53-10 defeat against France at Twickenham; France score seven tries to keep Six Nations title hopes alive; Wales record 29-17 win ...

Marcus Smith's introduction to the starting XV couldn't inspire England to a result against France, who secured their first Six Nations win at Twickenham ...

That applied the finishing touches to England's biggest home loss in history (or Five and Four Nations, for that matter), highlighting a dire need for changes ahead of this year's "We played the way we wanted to play. That try illustrated the gulf in impetus between the two teams, with England lacking the alertness and physicality of their guests. It shows we're on the right path." France flexed their ingenuity for Ollivon's brace in particular, the back-rower nonchalantly reaching over England's ruck to dot down following Ramos' all-too-simple break and chip deep into enemy territory. "We got exposed today," he told Stand-in fly-half Smith briefly narrowed the lead with a paltry penalty soon after, only for France to hit back before the break. We probably have to be better in the contact area which is on the forwards." The Red Rose showed signs of blooming in an improved second half but was left with too much to do after heading in at the break 27-3 down. [Bristol](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/bristol-rugby)'s [Ellis Genge](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/ellis-genge) said he 'wouldn't sugar coat' his analysis after standing in as captain for the absent Farrell, praising the "brilliant" Bleus while adding England "are way off where we want to be." Charles Ollivon, Thibaud Flament and Damian Penaud each scored two tries apiece as Les Bleus banked their first Six Nations win at Headquarters since 2005. [Steve Borthwick](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/steve-borthwick)'s [England](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/england-rugby-union-team) revolution stalled at Twickenham on Saturday after [France](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/france-rugby-union-team) flew to a record-breaking 53-10 [Six Nations](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/six-nations) win in hostile territory.

France player ratings: No matter what the fortunes of either side going into it, England-France in the Guinness Six Nations is always a...

Monstered [Ellis Genge](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/ellis-genge/) on 40 minutes which directly lead to Ollivon’s try. Sipili Faletea’s star turn two weekends ago wasn’t quite followed up here, with Genge getting into him at the setpiece. No quarter was shown to the English at the breakdown and the La Rochelle man won pretty much every moment in which he was involved. Did brilliantly at the less glamourous stuff, pouncing on a loose ball that had questionably popped out of an English ruck saving France’s jambon with English moving ominously towards their try line. Made a telling open-field contribution for France’s first try and got one of his own after accelerating onto a fine Dupont pop pass close to the English line. Latched onto Lewis Ludlum for a timely jackal that led to an attacking lineout for France. Used as an effective carry option twice in the opening three minutes. So effortlessly cool that he looks bored most of time. Bar one shanked effort, he kicked well with ball in hand. No box office moments this week even if his mere presence seemed to unnerve a feverish English midfield, who were suffering the effect of severe ball starvation. Showed his mettle in the frequent high-stakes kicking battles that littered the first half. Worryingly bad from England and frightening good at times from France.

Scrumhalf Rhys Webb produced a superb individual display in his first start for six years to inspire Wales to a 29-17 bonus-point victory over error-strewn.

“I thought we deserved to win today, and with the bonus point which was great,” Gatland told S4C. Webb was superb in controlling the game and his kick behind the Italian defence allowed Dyer to score the first try, though the wing was aided by a wicked bounce of the ball that wrong-footed the Italian defenders. Their two tries came from flanker Sebastian Negri and centre Juan Ignacio Brex.

France put in a masterclass of a performance as they hammered England 53-10 in a record-breaking showing in the Six Nations on Saturday.

[England](https://www.planetrugby.com/team/england)‘s only crossing of the evening as this was a chastening defeat that will no doubt sting Steve Borthwick and his players. Flament was exceptional, Ramos phenomenonal, Fickou and Danty perfect, Dupont was Dupont. France absolutely and totally dominant. Flament crossed in the 26th minute but it was too easy for the lock as passive England were overpowered in contact. Antoine Dupont grew in influence as he weaved his magic around the ruck but it was the power of forwards François Cros and Flament that did the damage for the next try. [France](https://www.planetrugby.com/team/france) who raced out of the blocks and when lock Paul Willemse offloaded out of the tackle they were away, with Ethan Dumortier sending Ramos over in the left corner.

On one of the darkest days in English rugby history, France put on a clinic by running in seven tries in a record 53-10 humiliation of its cross-channel ...

“It is a bit of a mystery at the moment.” Ollivon's second try was somewhat farcical after England flyhalf Marcus Smith lost possession of the ball in his attempt to get back over his own tryline after retrieving a kick. From the moment Flament broke England’s flimsy defensive line in his own half to help set up a second-minute try by Thomas Ramos, the French looked a class apart. It was the team's third heaviest defeat ever, only surpassed by a 76-0 loss for a weakened touring lineup in Australia in 1998 and a 58-10 beating by South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2007. The Irish will look to extend their 100% record with a win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday. “It was a very special game for us," Flament said.

Sportsmail breaks down everything you need to know ahead of England's fourth Six Nations game against holders France as Borthwick's side chase their third ...

And what are the starting line-ups? England will play their fourth Six Nations game against France on Saturday afternoon, with the match getting underway at 4.45pm. [England](/sport/england_rugby_team/index.html) will be looking to pick up their third straight win in the [Six Nations](/sport/six_nations/index.html) when they face holders [France](/sport/france-rugby/index.html). - Steve Borthwick's England face France in their fourth game in the Six Nations When is it? England will be looking to pick up their third win in a row when they face holders France in a crucial Six Nations showdown, but how can you watch the game?

Updates from Saturdays Six Nations round four matches; Italy host Wales at Stadio Olimpico (2.15pm), before England tackle defending champions France at ...

England endured their biggest ever home defeat as France scored seven tries in a 53-10 thrashing.

Wales boss Warren Gatland hailed the excellence of scrum-half Rhys Webb after their 29-17 Guinness Six Nations victory over Italy at Stadio Olimpico.

"Italy are where they are because of the way they have played over the last 10 years. It was a victory for the whole squad." It's very clear there was a tackle made, so there is a tackle line and their No 10 tackled Brex. "We fought our way back into it. I thought it was a great contribution by him." Wales captain Ken Owens said: "We will grow from this.

Following a 53-10 victory for France over England in their Six Nations fixture, here's our five takeaways from the game at Twickenham on Saturday.

Rugby is now a game of both physicality and brutality and without that sheer power, Test matches are particularly hard to win. It was England’s third worse defeat in their rugby history, their worst ever defeat at home and their biggest defeat to France. His task now is to learn the harsh lessons dished out by France, to try and find the power players to change the shape of the English backline, and above all, get some structure back into their performances. His personal stats might not show his influence on the match but every time England tried to fire it was he who barrelled them back, making four bone shattering dominant hits and acting as a fourth back-row forward around the breakdown. From the moment the outstanding Charles Ollivon created the first try with an exquisite offload to the last play of their attack that saw Damian Penaud scoot over for his brace, they were compelling and brilliant. It was a masterclass in controlled running rugby, showing every facet of France’s all round game and completely eviscerating Steve Borthwick’s rebuild project of his England side.

With the Six Nations Championship in full swing, it will soon be time for the Centenary Quaich to be fought for between Ireland and Scotland.

The Centenary Quaich is just one of several cups contested in the Six Nations Championship. Named after a Gaelic drinking vessel, the ‘Quaich’ has been presented to the winners of the Ireland versus Scotland fixture since 1989. The two teams battle it out every year to decide who will clinch the highly coveted trophy.

Wales scored four tries in a 29-17 win over Italy in Rome, climbing off the bottom of the Six Nations table at the hosts' expense.

Having ended a run of 36 games without a Six Nations win at the end of last season in the Welsh capital, Crowley’s team were hoping to triumph at home for the first time since 2013. For the first time since he returned as head coach at the start of the year, Gatland saw his players properly fired up, sticking to and executing the gameplan and looking more like a Gatland-coached side. The referee, Damon Murphy, not only ordered a penalty try, but also showed Cannone a yellow card. Liam Williams weaved his way to the line, bouncing off five defenders and then a decision by Wales captain Ken Owens to kick to the corner rather than taking three points delivered in spades. The crowd belted out the anthem to show their levels of expectation, but the early response simply wasn’t there on a wonderfully warm day at the Stadio Olimpico. Badgered by his four children to explain “Why are you No 21 Daddy, not No 9 any more?” he ensured they are more likely to be seeing him wearing single digits for the rest of this year, rather than a replacements jersey.