Maro Itoje addresses the England squad following their thrilling win over France (Image: Getty)
Maro Itoje insisted there is more where that came from after his side fried the French and kept their Six Nations title hopes alive.
Rookie 10 Fin Smith, on his first start made the winner for Elliot Daly and kicked the vital conversion after taking over the tee from misfiring Marcus Smith.
But it was England’s dogs of war Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Itoje who set up the win up front in the vital last period – with a little help from the bench.
That Daly try grabbed England a bonus point which could prove vital for Steve Borthwick’s crew in the final reckoning with two home games to come.
England almost played rope-a-dope soaking up huge French pressure in the first half then getting off the canvas in the second to lead 19-18.
They were back down when flying Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored his second try but Daly’s score, off a perfect line out, and Smith’s kick won it – but Itoje reckons there is plenty left in the locker.
Skipper Itoje said: “It is all a little bit of blur. For large parts of the game we weren’t as accurate as we could have been but one thing about this team is we fight for each other. We were ballsy. Imagine how good we could be if we add the accuracy to this fight.
“The team has been working and been consistent and the result is a vindication of the hard work. We want to enjoy the moment – it wasn’t easy – but we know there is so much more in us. There is a whole load we can get better at – this was not perfect by any means.”
The importance of this for Borthwick and his squad cannot be underestimated – another loss would have made it eight on the bounce against the top nations.
Elliot Daly is mobbed by his England team-mates after his last-gasp try (Image: Getty)
A handful of those defeats have been nail-biters with England throwing away winning positions but they finally got one over the line.
Borthwick’s job would have been on the line and now they can look forward to the clash with Scotland in two weeks, then come Italy and a trip to Cardiff to face Wales who have hit an all-time low.
Defeat here would have seen calls for Borthwick’s head but his bench – with Daly, Jamie George and Ollie Chessum all having huge impacts – could have kept him in a job.
Borthwick added: “They brought all that intelligence and experience on to the grass. Everyone wants that tangible reward as a mark there is progress being made.
“France had lots of chances and what struck me was how hard the players ran back and that is a real sign of a team developing.”
But England could have been out for the count before the break.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Don’t miss… [REPORT] [BLOG]
England were stretched when the French ran a penalty from their own 22 and completely outpaced the home defence. But incredibly, Antoine Dupont dropped a scoring pass from Thomas Ramos and England were off the hook and they had more luck when Damian Penaud grassed another ball under the posts.
Something had to give and it did in the 30th minute when Penaud came off his win to receive Dupont’s inside ball and kicked through for Bielle-Biarrey to score.
England were on the ropes but suddenly they were on the front foot with Tommy Freeman going twice close then popping up to feed Ollie Lawrence to score under the posts. That levelled it and got Twickenham off its feet, even if both sides looked out on theirs and the game was only 35 minutes old.
Ramos kicked France into a six-point lead after the break but England started swinging with Freeman brilliantly collecting a high ball from Fin Smith to score before Penaud hit back for the French.
England were going out on their shield but Fin Baxter burrowed over only for Bielle-Biarrey to score again. Then came Smith, then came Daly, then came relief for Borthwick.