England defeat France after extra-time Owen Farrell penalty to win Autumn Nations Cup

England 22-19 France (after extra-time): Captain missed four kicks at goal but landed crucial 95th-minute winner as hosts snatched defeat from the jaws of victory

England players celebrate with captain Owen Farrell (AFP via Getty Images)

England snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to win the Autumn Nations Cup as an Owen Farrell penalty clinched a sudden-death extra-time victory over France.

The home side, playing in their second final in 13 months, took an early lead through penalties from Farrell and Elliot Daly, only to go behind after Brice Dulin’s early try that came through a magical break from the impressive fly-half Matthieu Jalibert to give an inexperienced French side a lead that they would hold until the final minute of regular time.

Farrell and Jalibert went tit-for-tat from the tee, although it could have been a very different story had the England skipper brought his kicking boots after missing four of his eight efforts at goal.

However, Luke Cowan-Dickie’s try in the dying seconds of the match, and Farrell’s crucial conversion, tied the game up at 19-19 apiece, to send the final to sudden death.

Farrell missed an early chance at goal that would have wrapped the game up, but as the clock ticked down and a drop-goal shootout loomed, Maro Itoje won a pivotal penalty that allowed Farrell to atone for the his previous error and kick England to victory in a dramatic finish to the one-off tournament.

READ MORE: Every Autumn Nations Cup result

The two sides simply did not stack up against one another on paper. The agreement between the French Rugby Federation and Top 14 clubs, plus Fabien Galthie’s preference to prioritise the Six Nations over the Autumn Nations Cup, saw France’s second-least experience side ever selected take to the field, with only 16 previous caps among the pack and 68 caps in total. In stark contrast, Ben Youngs, Farrell, Joe Launchbury and George Ford all had more than that number individually, which only made it more bemusing when the hosts opened the final using none of that experience to their advantage.

England were able to take an early lead, with Ellis Genge winning a scrum penalty seven minutes in that allowed Farrell to open the scoring. But France hit back immediately to take the lead, with Jalibert catching Jamie George half-a-yard short to break between him and his Saracens teammate Farrell and send Dulinn in for the opening try. George complained of a blocker running a dummy line that created the space, but referee Andrew Brace was having none of it.

Brice Dulin scores the opening try of the game for France (EPA)

Daly chipped away at the lead with a long-range penalty after lock Killan Geraci took Jonny May out off the ball as he chased a kick, but each time England looked like getting back into the contest, their ill-discipline - both in defence and the breakdown - let France off the hook. Sam Underhill was punished for kicking the ball out of scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud’s hands as he left a scrum half an hour in, and Jalibert punished him by converting the kick at goal.

Five minutes later, it was his back-row colleague Tom Curry who transgressed as he entered a maul from the side, the second time the Sale flanker was penalised in the opening half, and Jalibert stretched the lead to 13-6 at the break.

England were favoured to be eight-point favorites with the bookmakers for the first half alone, but they needed something to turn the game on its head. Having been praised for their defensive displays against Georgia, Ireland and Wales, 14 missed tackles in the opening half made for glum reading.

Geraci found himself singled out once again by referee Brace for inching offside and committing a no-arms tackle in the same play to give Farrell another shot at goal, though each time England tried to use the advantage, it came to nothing as they simply could not break down the French. Farrell reduced the deficit to four points, but when loosehead prop Hassane Kolingar was penalised for hinging, he pushed his fourth effort of the day wide. Throughout Farrell could be heard in lengthy debate with Brace complaining of the French tactics, and that frustration evidently leaked into his normally reliable kicking game. That proved evident just before the hour mark when replacement lock Guillaume Ducat caught Ben Earl high, with Farrell again wasting his chance at goal.

Billy Vunipola is tackled by Baptiste Pesenti during the Autumn Nations Cup final (PA)

Both sides rung the changes, but France were forced into a change they would not have wanted to make as Jalibert was forced off in considerable pain, resulting in 21-year-old Louis Carbonal replacing him at fly-half. The Toulon youngster immediately kick the ball out on the full in his first touch, but regained his composure to kick a penalty when Watson was trapped in possession by the wing Gabin Villiere, extending the lead to seven.

With 10 minutes to go, England needed an immediate response and they got it when lock Baptiste Pesenti failed to roll away in good time, allowing Farrell to rediscover his aim and cut the gap to four. But again, England coughed up immediate ground as Will Stuart committed the same offence, and Carbonel restored the converted-try advantage.

England were now facing a do-or-die finish, and it came in huge controversy.

A penalty for England allowed Ford to send a stunning touch-finder to the five-metre line, and from the driving maul replacement hooker Cowan-Dickie managed to pirouette his way over the line, allowing Farrell to add the conversion with the clock already red and send the game to extra-time.

The hosts looked to have it wrapped up when Selevasio Tolofua was controversially penalised for going off his feet when trying to turn over Cowan-Dickie, but Farrell missed his fourth of the day as he struck the uprights, and France marched straight up the other end only to cough up possession.

With both sides petrified by the fear of making a mistake, neither were able to score in the opening 10-minute phase, though two knock-on went unnoticed for the home side as they teetered on the edge.

But five minutes into the second period Alivereti Raka was trapped deep in his own 22 by a combination of Slade, Daly and Curry, allowing Itoje to dive in and win the penalty as the French sealed off the ruck to allow Farrell to kick the winning penalty.

Teams

England: Elliot Daly; Anthony Watson (Max Malins, 70), Henry Slade, Owen Farrell, Jonny May; George Ford, Ben Youngs (Dan Robson, 70); Ellis Genge (Joe Marler, 59), Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, Joe Launchbury (Jonny Hill, 44); Tom Curry, Sam Underhill (Earl, 44), Billy Vunipola.

Replacements not used: Joe Marchant.

France: Brice Dulin; Alivereti Raka, Yoram Moefana, Jonathan Danty, Gabin Villiere; Matthieu Jalibert (Louis Carbonel, 61), Baptiste Couilloud (Sebastien Bezy, 81); Hassane Kolingar (Rodrigue Neti, 53), Pierre Bourgarit (Pesto Mauvaka, 53), Dorian Aldegheri (Uini Atonio, 40); Killan Geraci (Guillaume Ducat, 56), Baptiste Pesenti; Cameron Woki (Sekou Macalou, 56), Anthony Jelonch, Selevasio Tofofua.

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