Many English rugby fans will tell you that days where England have
dominated their opposition, provided plenty of entertainment and made
the significant amount of money spent on tickets worthwhile have been
few and far between in recent months.

However, yesterday at Twickenham England were a joy to watch in the
first half of a game where they ran out 34-10 winners against France
in their penultimate Six Nations match.

It wasn’t anything spectacular from Martin Johnson’s side, but they
did the basic things right and this resulted in four tries being
scored during a first half that was extremely enjoyable to watch.
From Mark Cueto’s try after barely a minute to Delon Armitage’s
passionate celebration after he scored, it was 40 minutes where
England felt like world champions again. Perhaps a slight
exaggeration, but they were so dominant and the French looked so weak.
Other than Cueto and Armitage, Ricky Flutey and Joe Worsley scored
tries for England to hand them a 29-0 lead at the break. Many fans
couldn’t believe what they had seen, others were frustrated it had
come too late in this Six Nations campaign.

Flutey then scored his second try of the match early in the second
half, but it wasn’t to signal another flurry of tries for the home
side. In fact, France were much improved and managed to score a couple
for themselves to leave the final score at 34-10 to England.
The damage was well and truly done in a scintillating first half
though and there was no doubt whatsoever that England deserved their
win. The thousands of English Rugby Union fans left happy for the
first time in a while and pride was restored after a couple of
indiscipline dominated defeats.

Speaking after the victory, England coach Johnson said that his side
‘got some luck and executed it well’ and that the performance was a
‘great example’ of the type of display his team should be putting in
more regularly.
In terms of where the team can go from here, Johnson has urged them to
keep improving because he believes they are ‘getting better each
week’. The plan from now on is to take this victory and better it in
the next few months. It is fair to say that the benchmark has been
set.

Johnson and England have another game at Twickenham next weekend when
they take on Scotland. A performance similar to the one against the French
would certainly be very welcome as England look to finish their Six
Nations campaign on a high.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about England Rugby