Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England played the same opposition in another under-strength fixture last year, losing 26-24 at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium
ByMike HensonBBC Sport rugby union news reporter- Published5 minutes ago
France XV (14) 35
Tries: Depoortere, Arfeuil, Le Garrec, Hastoy, Brau-Boirie Cons: Hastoy (4), Desperes
England (12) 19
Tries: Murley, M Smith, Ojomoh Con: Ford 2
A France XV proved too skilful for England in the teams' non-Test summer warm-up in Vannes, easing away to a comfortable victory that demonstrated their greater strength in depth.
A nicely worked try by Cadan Murley in the opening minute gave England a flying start, but they were soon reeled in once France's quicksilver handling game got up to speed.
The hosts' lead was two points at the break, but two superb tries within five minutes of the restart, combined with England's set-piece wilting in the final quarter, sealed Steve Borthwick's side's fate.
While England were without Northampton and Exeter stars before their clubs' meeting in the Prem final on Saturday, France were similarly affected by their own domestic play-offs.
Toulouse, Racing 92, Stade Francais and Montpellier all retained their internationals as they prepare for the Top 14 semi-finals.
However, with seven starters from European champions Bordeaux-Begles, France showed more cohesion.
Borthwick will draw positives from the performances of wings Noah Caluori and Murley, Ted Hill's energy up front and an enterprising cameo from replacement scrum-half Raffi Quirke.
Benhard Janse van Rensburg, the South African-born Bristol centre, came off the bench and could have had a try, but spilled the ball over the line as he cut a good line from inside centre.
England's summer continues with a formidable Nations Championship opener away to South Africa in Johannesburg on 4 July, before matches against Fiji and Argentina on subsequent weekends.
England strike first, but France run out convincing winners
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Murley made 124 metres with the ball in hand, including a try-scoring break in the opening minute
England's very first attack delivered a sublime try for Murley as Seb Atkinson ran hard, pulled a pass out the back and accurate work from Harry Randall and Caluori transferred wide for the Harlequins man to hold off the covering Theo Attisogbe and get in at the corner.
That slick first-phase score arrived inside 50 seconds.
France got a grip on much of the rest of the first half.
England hooker Theo Dan had already managed to deny Esteban Capilla, ripping the ball loose over the tryline, before Nicolas Depoortere, playing for the first time since dislocating his shoulder in the Six Nations defeat by Scotland in March, barged over on eight minutes.
The lively Gregoire Arfeuil followed soon after, gliding onto Yoram Moefana's neat inside ball to give France a 14-5 lead.
England's attempts to fight back were undermined by understandable handling errors from a make-shift side, also lacking mainstays such as Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, Ollie Chessum, Ben Spencer and Joe Heyes, in their first match of the summer.
Despite that there were promising combinations between Max Ojomoh and Murley in wide channels and full-back Marcus Smith dovetailed nicely with fly-half George Ford, stepping in to first receiver at times.
And on the stroke of half-time, another first-phase strike move delivered with Caluori in off his wing to put Smith into a hole. Smith stepped off his left foot, leaving the cover defence behind, and went in under the posts to take his team down the tunnel just two points adrift at 14-12.
But France's determination not to die with the ball and daring to run it from deep paid off after the break.
Scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec, playing at his boyhood club, scampered over for a hugely popular score before Antoine Hastoy wormed over at the end of another sweeping move that England could never pin down.
Caluori had a try wiped off from a knock-on by replacement hooker Jamie Blamire, but England couldn't get a real toehold as they toiled at the set-piece.
A horrible defensive lapse allowed Baptiste Jauneau to tap-and-go through the heart of where the visiting defence should be and put fellow replacement Fabien Brau-Boirie under the posts for a 33-12 lead with two minutes to go.
England rallied too little, too late, with Ojomoh going in from a smart, flat mis-pass from captain Ford in the final play of the match.
France: Attissogbe; Ambadiang, Depoortere, Moefana, Arfeuil; Hastoy, Le Garrec; Poirot, Lamothe, Falatea, Guillard (c), Staniforth, Matiu, Capilla, Gazzotti
Replacements: Massa, Wardi, Montagne, Palu, Tixeront, Jauneau, Desperes, Brau-Boirie
England XV: M Smith; Caluori, Ojomoh, S Atkinson, Murley; Ford, Randall; Opoku-Fordjour, Dan, Kloska, Ewels, Martin, Hill, Curry, Dombrandt.
Replacements: Blamire, Obano, Sela, Isiekwe, Kenningham, Quirke, Janse van Rensburg, Radwan.
