• France 24-17 England • Hosts race into 17-0 half-time lead before May leads fightback When Eddie Jones talked recently about England looking to become the greatest team the world has ever seen, this was not the start point he was envisaging. The World Cup finalists were about as irresistibly brutal as a damp paper bag for the first hour of a wet Sunday afternoon in Paris and were joyfully ripped apart by a French team not so much revitalised as reborn. What a difference three months make. Or maybe not. England finished a distant second to South Africa in Yokohama and here was another savage disappointment for anyone lulled into a false sense of security by their remarkable semi-final beating of New Zealand. France led 24-0 after 56 minutes, courtesy of two tries from their new captain Charles Ollivon and an early effort from winger Vincent Rattez, and two electric second-half tries from Jonny May were not enough to spare the visitors’ blushes. Continue reading...