A brilliant first half, that saw tries from Gerald Merceron and Imanol Harinordoquy, helped give France a deserved 20-15 win over England in Paris.
So, again the 'England Grand Slam' merchandise will have to wait for at least another year as France shocked the side who had come into this match as favourites, following the handsome victories over Scotland and Ireland which had propelled them to No.1 in the Zurich World Rankings.
It was Merceron who was undoubtedly the hero of the hour, contributing 15 points to his side's effort and spearheading an excellent defensive display from 'Les Bleus' to dash English hopes and knock their status as potential world beaters.
Time and time again, England tried to drive through the middle and find the gaps in the French line, only to find themselves rocked backwards over the gainline by the strength of the French tackling, more often than not also also committing the cardinal error of turning over ball in the tackle.
The vast spaces that had opened up all around the field in England's last encounter, against Ireland, were nowhere to be seen as England's strike runners were swamped by a tide of blue virtually every time they laid a hand on the ball.
England's halfbacks Kyran Bracken and Jonny Wilkinson were given a torrid time by the marauding French back row and the superb French skipper Fabien Galthie, who again proved his worth to his side as a leader and master tactician.
Indeed, the writing was on the wall for the men in white from the very first second of this pulsating match, Martin Johnson -- normally the epitome of consistency -- committing an elementary error from the kick off to give France their first chance of points.
Merceron was off target on that occasion, but this early hiccup from Johnson was an illustration of how out of sorts England were at Stade de France, wilting under the pressure of French tactics.
In the 11th minute, France had Galthie to thank for their first try, the scrum-half showing great vision to draw the English defence before handing a delightful pass to No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy , who came onto the ball at pace, creating havoc in English ranks before finding Merceron.
The fly-half skipped past Healey for a try under the posts. Quite why referee Andre Watson called for the video ref to sanction the score is anyone's guess as there couldn't have been a man, woman or child in the stadium who wouldn't have awarded it immediately.
With Merceron converting his own try, things looked ominous for England as France continued to enjoy the lion's share of possession and a few minutes later Harinordoquy was to the fore once more -- latching onto a superb pass from Tony Marsh to crash over in the corner. Merceron slotted a superb touchline conversion to make it 14-0 as the match reached the end of a torrid first quarter for England.
The ease with which France were able to breach the English defences nearly resulted in another try in the 25th minute, prop Peter de Villiers setting off on a 20 metre run towards the line after Jason Robinson had been dispossessed in midfield. Only a moment of French overeagerness gave respite to England as a blue jersey went over the top as de Villiers went to ground with the white line within spitting distance.
In the 33rd minute, Wilkinson put a drop goal attempt wide of the posts while two minutes later Merceron also missed with a long range drop.
But Merceron added another three points after England's Phil Vickery was penalised for tackling a Frenchman without the ball.
Seconds later, the English effort was further disrupted by an injury to centre Mike Tindall, former League star Henry Paul came on for debut. Not exactly the most gentle of introductions to international rugby union and Paul did look somewhat exposed on the rare occasions he took the ball into contact, invariably giving away either a penalty or the turnover to the streetwise French.
But, coincidentally, as Paul did not actually touch the ball during that last few minutes of the first half, the arrival of the League man coincided with England's fightback as a period of sustained pressure saw England come back into the match.
After magnificent French defence had repelled the English on a series of five metre scrums, the ball went wide to Robinson with three cover tacklers heading for the diminutive player at high speed.
Some mesmerising footwork from the Sale star left Merceron, Serge Betsen and David Bory clutching at thin air as Robinson sprinted over for a crucial try to temporarily lift English spirits.
Wilkinson added the conversion to make it 17-7 as the whistle for half-time went.
England began in a more positive frame of mind after the break and two minutes later, Wilkinson was able to steady English nerves with a penalty from 40 metres.
A fine break from Healey was squandered after Paul was dispossessed by the defence and set off on a dangerous counterattack -- only a magnificent tackle from Johnson on Betsen in midfield snuffing out the move.
Another chance went begging following a break by Greenwood. The Harlequins centre sliced through the midfield but delayed his pass to Healey just a fraction too long with the result that his team-mate was scragged as he caught the ball, forcing a knock-on.
Then Worsley, who had earlier been penalised for a late tackle on Merceron, conceded another penalty, coming around the side of a ruck to give Merceron the opportunity to stretch France's lead to 20-10. That was to be Worsley's last act, the No.8 replaced by Martin Corry after a forgettable game.
But Worsley's ineffectual performance was mirrored throughout the England pack with players who had looked world-class against Ireland, coming off distinctly second best to their French counterparts throughout the afternoon.
The lack of a solid platform left the much-vaunted English backline reduced to the role of bystanders, only Will Greenwood consistently cracking the French midfield so impressively organised by monsieurs Merceron, Marsh and Traille.
To their credit, England, despite being out-thought and out-muscled, never gave up and continued to attempt to snatch a result deep into injury time, half-chance wilting under the bravery of the French defence.
England coach Clive Woodward's last roll of the dice was to launch a number of late replacements into the mix, but Cohen's last ditch try -- which went unconverted by Paul in the absence of Wilkinson – was not enough to keep England's Grand Slam bandwagon on the road.
France, however, after a magnificent performance have now taken over England's mantle as favourites for European rugby's greatest prize.
Moment of the Match
Not a flowing back move or a long-range try, but a moment that neatly encapsulates the entire match. During a rare of period of sustained English attack in the second half, prop Graham Rowntree picked up the ball at the rear of ruck, pinned his ears back and drove forward at full pace, trying to inject some momentum into his side's stuttering efforts. But waiting for him square-on was French second row Fabien Pelous who put in one of the biggest hits you're every likely to see on the rugby field to stop the 17-stone frontrower dead in his tracks and then shove him back from whence he came.
Man of the Match
There were many French heroes on show at Stade de France, including No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy and skipper Fabien Galthie, but it was Gerald Merceron who drove Les Bleus to their magnificent victory, the fly-half grabbing a try, two penalties and two conversions during a fine afternoon's work.
Villain of the Match
England's stuttering forward effort didn't do No.8 Joe Worsley any favours, but the Wasps forward had a poor game by his own high standards, failing to make signficant yardage from the base of the scrum and giving away a number of crucial penalties to hamstring his side's chances of victory -- including a late tackle on Merceron.
The teams:
France: 1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 David Auradou, 5 Olivier Brouzet, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 David Bory, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves: Olivier Azam, Fabien Pelous, Olivier Milloud, Pierre Mignoni, Remy Martin
Unused: Francois Gelez, Jimmy Marlu
England: 1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Will Greenwood, 12 Mike Tindall, 13 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves: Martin Corry, Danny Grewcock, Jason Leonard, Dan Luger, Dorian West, Henry Paul
Unused: Nick Duncombe
Referee: Watson a.
Points Scorers
France
Tries: Merceron G. 1, Harinordoquy I. 1
Conv: Merceron G. 2
Pen K.: Merceron G. 2
England
Tries: Robinson J.T. 1, Cohen B.C. 1
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 1
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 1
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