France 21 England 31 player ratings: George Kruis and Billy Vunipola inspire England to Six Nations Grand Slam

Man-for-man marking from England's 31-21 vicotry over France in the final Six Nations match of the year

Jack de Menezes
Sunday 20 March 2016 00:10 GMT
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England ran in three tries to ensure they would not be denied in their quest to secure a first Six Nations Grand Slam for 13 years after beating France 31-21 at the Stade de France.

Danny Care got the visitors off to the dream start, with the recalled scrum-half spotting a gap from a ruck and bursting clear of the French defence to leap over the line and score the first try of the match, converted by Owen Farrell.

Better was to come for England, as they soon added a second before the break when the prop Dan Cole managed to break two tackles and barrell his way over the line to score a rare try, with Farrell again adding the extras.

The problem for England though was they could not build a healthy gap due to their own ill-dsicipline, and France scrum-half Maxime Machenaud took full advantage to keep the game alive with a stream of successful penalty efforts.

The game was finely poised at 25-21 in England's favour when France saw an attack on the English defence falter, and the red rose immediately broke clear, with the impressive Billy Vunipola breaking free from a scrum to allow replacement scrum-half Ben Youngs to chip through and see Anthony Watson collect before finishing expertly.

All the was left was for Farrell to add a penalty to take England 10 points clear of the 21 points France had racked up through Machenaud's boot, and the celebrations were enjoyed even more when captain Dylan Hartley returned to the pitch to lift the Six Nations trophy, having left 15 minutes before on a stretcher after an accidental knee to the head.

Click through the gallery above to see how each player got on.

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