England’s first half was their worst 40 minutes under Eddie Jones. Admittedly neither side was helped by some overly-pernickety and frankly baffling refereeing decisions, in what amounted to a drab and frustrating match.

Despite all that, England somehow managed to sneak that record 15th win. Here’s how the players rated.

1 Joe Marler – 4
Did well to even play after a miraculously quick recovery from a broken leg (drinking two pints of milk a day was apparently key) but was pretty anonymous all match. How England missed Mako Vunipola’s carrying. Although all the front row struggled against a mammoth French scrum, and I wouldn’t single Marler out, there was definite improvement when Matt Mullan came on. His place is under pressure.

2 Dylan Hartley – 5
Another very rusty front row forward, although one embarrassing early lineout cock-up which bounced off Dan Cole’s head seemed more to do with the jumpers than him. Was tellingly replaced on 55 minutes – a bold call to remove your captain when all is still to play for. Jamie George is breathing down his neck.

3 Dan Cole – 6
Gets an extra point for putting in a huge shift – how often to tightheads do the full 80, especially at test level? Maybe Jones doesn’t trust Sinckler’s scrummaging. Apart from that, Cole was tidy, without being impressive.

4 Joe Launchbury – 5
Launchbury’s quietest match for England and even missed a tackle out wide. Did better in the second half and carried with more power before being subbed for Haskell on 65 minutes.

5 Courtney Lawes – 6
Another who went missing early on but then raised his game, as he made a couple of big hits and carries toward the end. Ran the lineout well, early mix up aside.

6 Maro Itoje – 7
Not at his best in the first half and was noticeably too high when carrying. Part of a backrow that was comprehensively outplayed at the breakdown by their opposite numbers. Is he a long-term prospect at flanker? Did so much better when switched back to his preferred second row in the second half. Top tackler for England.

7 Tom Wood – 5
A poor game from Wood, who looked a bit too over-excited at the start and conceded several penalties. A little unfortunate to concede one on 34 minutes for diving on a ball in open play, as that was just a wrong decision by the referee. Little impact in the tackle or with the ball in hand. Perhaps will be shifted to the blindside to make room for Haskell next match? Looks a better fit for him.

8 Nathan Hughes – 6.5
As per the rest of the pack – a quiet first half and outplayed by the French but got better, particularly when some of the hard yards carrying was taken on by Haskell and George. Fifteen carries and the most metres by a forward is a good effort. His opposite number Picamoles was a class apart, however.

9 Ben Youngs – 5
England’s best player from the Autumn unfortunately brought his club form to the game – he may have had no good ball from the breakdown to work with, but even with that consideration his passing was exceptionally sloppy, players regularly having to catch high or break their stride. Did make a nice break down the blindside with Daly early on. Subbed for Care who made an immediate impact – Youngs has enough credit to earn himself a reprieve, however.

10 George Ford – 6
I am trying to find other ways of saying ‘quiet in the first half’… Some errant kicking out of hand but also landed a brilliant one into the corner. Stood up well in defence generally, despite being targeted by hulking 23 stone props. Failed to get the backline firing and was subbed for Te’o on 68 mins.

11 Elliot Daly – 8
England’s stand out player – looked dangerous with ball in hand, made some very important tackles and landed a monster 50-yard penalty. Can he be faulted for not kicking his heels up to finish the try in the corner? Justified Jones’ faith and did enough to retain his place.

12 Owen Farrell – 7
Excellent goal kicking as per usual, but he was uncharacteristically loose in defence. Did make one monster tackle on Picamoles and threw a beautiful long pass to set up Te’o for his try late on.

13 Jonathan Joseph – 6
Defended well against the threatening French backs but didn’t really get a chance to show off his fancy footwork or attack in space. Replaced by Daly in the centres towards the end as Jones reorganised his attack and brought Jack Nowell on.

14 Jonny May – 4.5
A stupid early leg lift blotted May’s performance – it was just daft and unnecessary. He was lucky England only suffered 6 points to 3 while he was in the bin. Otherwise ok, showed off his pace a few times without ever really looking dangerous.

15 Mike Brown – 7
Mike Brown played like Mike Brown. Good under the high ball, safe in defence and ran railroad-straight lines into contact. Is it unfair to ask for a little more creativity from him? His experience at the back is probably more valuable to the team than we at home realise, however.

Replacements – 8
The majority of England’s stand-out performers arrived late to the party, as Jones’ inspired introductions proved the difference between the sides. He resisted emptying the bench entirely (Sinckler and Harrison remained seated), but each ‘finisher’, as the team calls them, made a visible difference. Jamie George outshone the captain he replaced with some tough tackling and carrying, while James Haskell added the physical edge the English pack had been lacking and eased the onerous workload being placed on Hughes.

Danny Care added spark and devil and moved the ball quicker – finally giving England the sense of impetuous they had been lacking. Alongside him, Ben Te’o was the standout – one crunching hit and a few bulldozing runs caught the eye, and he finished of a glorious Farrell pass to score his maiden international try.

Who do you think played well?

By Henry Ker