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England may have entered this year’s Six Nations as favourites, but they will have left their opening fixture with much-tempered expectations.
While the Six Nations title is still achievable, the Grand Slam has already gone thanks to a surprise 24-17 defeat by France in Paris on Sunday.
An early try from Vincent Rattez set the tone, and first-time captain Charles Ollivon was the next Frenchman to go over, leaving England with a 17-0 half-time deficit.
Eddie Jones ‘s side were then undone by another Ollivon try in the second half, this one inciting a mass brawl in the corner.
Jonny May did bring England a brief glimmer of hope, scoring twice in the closing stages, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap. Here’s how all of the players fared in the Stade de France:
Ratings: France vs EnglandShow all 31 1 /31Ratings: France vs England Ratings: France vs England France 24-17 England France recorded a deserved 24-17 victory over England on the opening weekend of the Six Nations - but who were the star players? Click through the gallery to see out player ratings.
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Ratings: France vs England France: 15. Anthony Bouthier – 7 Very assured on his debut as he looked composed in defence, with a crucial tackle on George Kruis to hold up the lock over the line.
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Ratings: France vs England 14. Teddy Thomas – 7 Return to international rugby came with a reminder of how dangerous he can be with the ball in hand Devastating break in the build-up to the first try.
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Ratings: France vs England 13. Virimi Vakatawa – 6 Had been built up as the major threat to England but was kept fairly quiet, largely due to a knock he suffered early on.
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Ratings: France vs England 12. Gael Fickou – 6 Linked the play well in midfield but wasn't able to do much of note with the ball in hand.
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Ratings: France vs England 11. Vincent Rattez – 8 Was due to start the game on the bench yet found himself celebrating a try five minutes into the match, having beaten Youngs to score. Played a key role in the try after linking with Ollivon and certainly made the most of his chance in the starting XV.
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Ratings: France vs England 10. Romain Ntamack – 8 Pulled the strings well at 10 as he controlled the game with his half-back partner, and did well to shake off a huge tackle from Ellis Genge that could well have ended his game early.
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Ratings: France vs England 9. Anthony Dupont – 9 France love a scrum-half who controls so emphatically and in Dupont they have a gem of a player on their hands. It was his box-kicks that caused England problems and led to Ollivon's first try, before he single-handedly set up his second score by beating Sinckler and Youngs. Had it not been for kicking the ball dead a minute early at the end of the match - and subsequently handing England the penalty they used to clinch a bonus point - he could have received a perfect 10, although the site of fans chanting his name after the huge tackle on Willi Heinz was worth the ticket price alone.
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Ratings: France vs England 1. Cyril Baile – 7 Not overly outstanding in the scrum but did a good job of not giving England the advantage, which came after he and Haouas departed.
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Ratings: France vs England 2. Julien Marchand – 7 Accurate throwing in the lineout came unstuck midway through the second half as England started to pick him off, but he contributed well with ball in hand.
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Ratings: France vs England 3. Mohamed Haouas – 7 Another who impressed on debut as he stood up to the challenge int he set-piece well.
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Ratings: France vs England 4. Bernard Le Roux – 7 Made an outstanding 22 tackles to lead the charts as their defensive general.
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Ratings: France vs England 5. Paul Willemse – 7 Like his second-row partner, it was his defensive effort that really stood out.
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Ratings: France vs England 6. Francois Cros – 7 Dovetailed beautifully with Ollivon to cause problems for England at the breakdown.
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Ratings: France vs England 7. Charles Ollivon – 9 Got himself into good supporting positions and was duly rewarded with two tries on his first outing as France captain. The ideal way to start his new reign as skipper.
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Ratings: France vs England 8. Gregory Alldritt – 8 Another standout performer who claimed the man of the match award, Alldritt was a real nuisance over the ball and contributed well with ball in hand.
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Ratings: France vs England England: 15. George Furbank – 5 Struggled badly on his first outing in what proved increasingly poor weather conditions. Knocked on a high ball and kicked a chip and chase effort needlessly.
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Ratings: France vs England 14. Jonny May – 8 One eye-catching take late in the first half was followed by a spectacular solo try in the second.
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Ratings: France vs England 13. Manu Tuilagi - 5 One hard tackle on Thomas aside, he did nothing in the 16 minutes he was on the field before departing.
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Ratings: France vs England 12. Owen Farrell – 5 Set the tone for England’s poor showing as he made a number of errors. His kicking for touch was good.
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Ratings: France vs England 11. Elliot Daly – 5 Forced onto the back foot throughout as he received very little ball in attacking situations.
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Ratings: France vs England 10. George Ford – 5 The more assured of England’s two midfield playmakers, but he couldn’t get much going outside him.
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Ratings: France vs England 9. Ben Youngs – 4 Off-colour from the get-go that makes you wonder whether it’s worth persisting with him at scrum-half. Missed two crucial tackles, the second on Rattez to allow him to score, and his box-kicking was wayward as he repeatedly kicked too long.
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Ratings: France vs England 1. Joe Marler - 5 Sturdy enough in the scrum but just couldn’t get the edge needed to produce results from the set piece.
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Ratings: France vs England 2. Jamie George – 5 Had one of his throws picked off in the first half and was not able to make much of an impact carrying.
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Ratings: France vs England 3. Kyle Sinckler – 5 Had two good runs that got England going forward but lacked that little something extra to make them clean breaks.
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Ratings: France vs England 4. Maro Itoje – 4 At fault for the move that finished with Rattez’s try as he rushed out of defence to create the whole for Thomas. Lost his bearings when he ended up on the French side of the breakdown and conceded a needless penalty.
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Ratings: France vs England 5. Charlie Ewels – 4 Made little impact in the loose until he coughed up possession on the stroke of half-time, and replaced by George Kruis short of the hour mark.
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Ratings: France vs England 6. Courtney Lawes – 5 Stole a lineout early in the second half that got England into a position where they should have scored from.
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Ratings: France vs England 7. Sam Underhill – 5 Beaten by Thomas in the lead up to the first try and he just looked half-a-yard off the pace set by the French pack.
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Ratings: France vs England 8. Tom Curry – 5 Looked like a flanker playing at No 8, as he gave England pretty much no attacking threat from the base of the scrum. His defensive effort was up at his usual levels, but it brought little success.
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Click through the gallery above to see our ratings.
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