Thoughts on a great England victory

In the Great Debate of Farrell v Smith George Ford was marginalised. He was not yesterday: with some glorious kicking he personally amassed 27 points.  The drop kick is an effective but underused weapon. I was there in the Stade de France when the South African fly half Jamie de Beer  destroyed England with five deadly drops.

Down to 14 men after a  harsh red card brandished to Tom Curry, England produced some of their best rugby in years, justifying the description that in whatever sport – and sometimes even in warfare – England do best with their backs against the wall.

Maru Itoje always in the thick of the action, Jamie George and Tuilagi all played much better. I thought England would win and had a small tickle on them to do so but I still don’t see them troubling the big boys in the lower section

I was not surprised that many England fans were still outside at the time of kick off. The Stade Velodrome is a magnificent stadium which I visited to see Toulon play Toulouse. However , it has a concourse where there is a scary crush.

You are better off watching on telly.