England have battled to a 22-19 win over France in sudden-death extra time to win the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup in front of 2000 fans at Twickenham.
Captain Owen Farrell converted a Luke Cowan-Dickie try with the last kick of normal time to level the scores. He then hit the post with a penalty 80 seconds into extra time - when the first points scored would win the match - but then made no mistake with six minutes left on the clock from wide on the left.
"We just had to keep fighting," says England coach Eddie Jones. "Owen had one of those rare days, so we had to find other way to score points."
"Our performance wasn't as sparkling as we wanted it to be, but it was a great game of rugby, and we've won the Six Nations and now the Eight Nations, and we can't do any more."
Fittingly, fans were on site to witness the drama - England's first taste of extra time since winning the World Cup final in 2003.
In that match, Jonny Wilkinson held his nerve and this time, it was Farrell, who missed four kicks in all, but will be remembered for the two that made the difference when it mattered most.
The result was tough for France, who headed into the match as massive underdogs, but played with all the confidence of youth and silenced those who ridiculed the game, due to the unavailability of so many key players
"It was not the French farce, but the French force today," says flanker Cameron Woki.
"We wanted to show that there was only one French squad. There's no B team or C team.
"We showed we could compete with England. There's a bit of disappointment obviously, but we can be proud of ourselves."
France deservedly led 13-6 at halftime, due to a sharp Brice Dulin try and the boot of impressive first-five Matthieu Jalibert, and then a spirited defence of their own line in the face of a relentless England forward assault at the end of the half.
England made most of the running in the second half, but an uncharacteristically inaccurate Farrell could not turn enough penalty opportunities into points. Instead, replacement France first-five Louis Carbonel landed two pressure kicks, which looked to be enough.
But England mauled Cowan-Dickie over the line in the last minute and Farrell made the pressure conversion to take the game to extra time, raising a huge roar from the lucky fans who had their own golden tickets.
The captain had another kick from a similar distance to win it 80 seconds into extra time but hit a post. England then defended carefully as France tried to set up a drop goal, and won another penalty to quell the danger.
With six minutes remaining, the prospect of a penalty shootout loomed large, but France winger Allivereti Raka was trapped by Tom Curry and penalised for holding on, as Maro Itoje wrestled for the ball.
From wide on the left, Farrell made no mistake and although England's players celebrated wildly, everyone involved with the French team will take a huge amount from the game, where - as coach Fabien Galthie said - they did the shirt proud.
Reuters
