France thrash England to keep Six Nations hopes alive

England have succumbed to a 53-10 defeat at the hands of France in Saturday's Six Nations fixture, the hosts suffering their worst-ever defeat at Twickenham.

Having posted a morale-boosting win in Wales last time out, England would have been optimistic about toppling a France side that showed vulnerability against Scotland two weeks ago.

However, Steve Borthwick's side were ruthlessly torn apart by one of their fierce rivals, the tone being set when the first of seven tries from the visitors was posted in just the second minute.

Thomas Ramos and Thibaud Flament both went over in the first 26 minutes to put France 17-0 ahead before Marcus Smith finally got England on the board with a penalty six minutes before the break.

Nevertheless, . . .