Summary

  • England beat France 44-8 at Twickenham to go top of the Six Nations table

  • Wing May scores first-half hat-trick of tries

  • Slade also scored as England secure bonus point before half-time

  • A penalty try and a Farrell score increased the lead in second half

  • Penaud replied for France

  • England's record winning margin against France was 37 points, in 1911.

  • Watch highlights on BBC Two at 18:00

  1. Bye for nowpublished at 17:55 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Tom Fordyce's match report is fresh off the presses and plastered all over the BBC Sport website.

    You can enjoy five minutes of video highlights below.

    And keep it locked to BBC Radio 5 live for reaction from Eddie Jones, Jonny May, Owen Farrell and Ben Youngs.

    And there are extended highlights on Rugby Special on BBC Two in five minutes time.

    Time for me to make a move. See you back here soon.

  2. 'Like watching dogs in the park'published at 17:44 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Eddie Jones

    England coach Eddie Jones speaking to BBC Radio 5 live: "We're a defensive team so to hold France to eight points was very important to us. We're finding an English way to do kick in behind. You need to bring the defence forward then have the skill to see the space.

    "Jonny May on the kick chase is like watching dogs in the park.

    "Looking forward to going to Cardiff and taking on the greatest Welsh side ever. That's what I'm hearing."

  3. 'France left a lot of room in the back field'published at 17:39 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Chris Jones with Ben Youngs

    Scrum-half Ben Youngs on England's kicking game: "It's something that we'll continue to work on and grow. We want to get in the right areas and we've put a lot of emphasis on our kick chase but France left a lot of room in the backfield"

  4. 'We weren't happy at half-time'published at 17:35 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Eddie JonesImage source, Getty Images

    England head coach Eddie Jones told ITV: "We weren't happy at half-time and we thought we had just gone off the boil a little bit. I was pleased with our second half because we shut them out, although we missed some scoring opportunities but it was better.

    "It is a difficult game when you get points in front because you can get seduced by the scoreboard and you start doing things you wouldn't normally, but we kept our discipline and stuck to the game plan."

    On England's kicking game: "As teams defend now, the space is in behind and the only way to get players in that space is to put the ball there. If teams start defending in other ways, it will create space in other areas.

    "Maro [Itoje] is an important player for us and Courtney [Lawes] stepped in and put some good shots in with good energy. He is a class player."

  5. Curry on the scenepublished at 17:31 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Tom CurryImage source, Reuters

    Some big stats in defence from Tom Curry, who racked up 19 tackles in his time on the pitch. Mark Wilson was only one behind on the blindside.

    That back row is looking as balanced as a gyroscope.

  6. Watch Six Nations highlightspublished at 17:29 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    MayImage source, PA

    You can watch the highlights from this match on BBC Two's Six Nations Rugby Special from 18:00 - click here for the live page.

    But first some words from England head coach Eddie Jones coming up...

  7. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 17:27 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    Ralph Brooker: @EnglandRugby Courtney Lawes Moment. THAT tackle! Lofting Bastereaud back over the bowler’s head for a straight six! #ENGVFRA #ENGFRA #ANGFRA #bbcrugby #sixnations2019 I winced.

  8. England 10 from twopublished at 17:24 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    Wales v England in Cardiff on 23 February looks an absolute belter of a match...

    TableImage source, BBC Sport
  9. Postpublished at 17:19 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    England 44-8 France

    The French bus is poised for a quick getaway from TW2.

    Can you blame them?

    French team bus
  10. 'Tactical and physical dominance'published at 17:19 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Paul Grayson
    Former England international on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    We talked about England replicating the intensity and the accuracy of Dublin eight days ago, and they flew out of the blocks. They played at a level that France could not cope with, the dominance was tactical and physical.

  11. England's all-time leading try scorerspublished at 17:14 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    49 Rory Underwood

    31 Will Greenwood & Ben Cohen

    30 Jeremy Guscott

    28 Jason Robinson

    24 Dan Luger

    22 Jonny May

    21 Josh Lewsey

    20 Chris Ashton & Mark Cueto

  12. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 17:13 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    At the Dan Coleface: England looking very tactically adept in first two games. Very refreshing to watch a well coached side strictly follow a game plan. Result has to be caveated against quality of France, though

    Stew: What a game by England! Destroyed the French!

    Dan Lloyd: England's backs have been superb don't get me wrong, but the back row has been phenomenal yet again. Doing the hard work and putting France under immense pressure.

  13. 'Awesome'published at 17:12 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Jonny MayImage source, getty

    England wing Jonny May speaking to ITV: "Trying to raise the bar after last week was the challenge, but we came out and definitely played some good rugby today.

    "The brand of rugby we want to play, we want to put teams under pressure. I’m just doing my job, we are all working hard and putting some good performances together.

    "We have learnt a lot and worked incredibly hard, and it’s paid off in the end. To score a hat trick at Twickenham is awesome and very special, I’m very lucky."

  14. 'Wales will be pumped for Cardiff clash'published at 17:09 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Matt Dawson
    Former England scrum-half on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    The game in Cardiff has enormous consequences, don’t underestimate Wales, they don’t need motivating. They will be fully pumped.

  15. 23 Februarypublished at 17:07 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    It was a superb performance, marrying brains and brawn.

    Put a ring round 23 February and save the date. It will be massive when England engage Wales in a titanic match in Cardiff.

  16. 'Wales will fancy England'published at 17:04 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    FT: England 44-8 France

    Paul Grayson
    Former England international on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    Wales played a scratch team yesterday in terms of world cup preparation, and maybe with one eye on the England clash.

    Wales will fancy England at home even though they are running hot at the minute.

  17. 'Complete control'published at 17:01 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    England 44-8 France

    Matt Dawson
    Former England scrum-half on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    It was ominous for France even after a minute, with England’s brilliance, May’s hat-trick. France kept going, they didn’t throw the towel in, but complete control from England for most of the 80 minutes.

  18. Full-timepublished at 16:59 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    England 44-8 France

    England eviscerate France to steamroll towards a massive meeting with Wales in a fortnight's time.

    England 44-8 FranceImage source, Getty Images
  19. 'Wales may see something to work on'published at 16:58 Greenwich Mean Time 10 February 2019

    England 44-8 France

    Matt Dawson
    Former England scrum-half on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    Wales will look at it and if they manipulate the game so England have to go through the phases, they might see that as a weakness.

  20. Postpublished at 79 mins

    England 44-8 France

    Great chasing in the opposite direction by George Ford as he covers Antoine Dupont's break and dots down the scrum-half's kick ahead under his own posts.

    This would be a good time to get a jump on the traffic if you are that way inclined and at Twickenham.

    The focus has gone from the game.