Le Crunch! Here is the history of every Men’s Six Nations game between England and France

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This weekend’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations will see England play France for the 112th time in their history.

Over the years this titanic Test match has become known as Le Crunch as Gallic flair meets Anglo-Saxon order.

First played in 1906, it was only when France were introduced to the Five Nations in 1947 that this fixture reached a new level of intensity and was both underlined and circled on the calendar.

At the time of writing it is England that have won the most matches. Currently with 60 wins under their belt, compared to France’s 44.

France come to Allianz Twickenham Stadium this weekend fresh from a brutal 43-0 win over Wales in Paris, while England lost 27-22 against Ireland in Dublin.

So, with the 25th meeting of England and France in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship era nearly upon us, here is a peek at their past 24 meetings…

2000, France 9-15 England

The turn of the Millennium and the start of the Six Nations could not have gone better for England and Sir Clive Woodward.

Over the 1990s France and England had been a dominant force in the Five Nations, with each side winning the tournament three times. Both teams hoped to continue their successes of the past decade, but to do so England had to find a way to win in Paris.

It had been six years since Rob Andrew kicked England to victory in the French capital, with the city an unhappy hunting ground for the side from that point onwards.

It was a tense match at the Stade de France from start to finish, with Jonny Wilkinson kicking all 15 of England’s points on the way to victory.

There were a number of heart-in-mouth moments, with France seeing a Thomas Lombard try ruled out for a forward pass and surviving late yellow cards for Simon Shaw and Austin Healy. 

2001, England 48-19 France

After registering this victory over France at Twickenham Stadium, England were branded as ‘merciless’.

Scoring tries through Will Greenwood, Richard Hill, Iain Balshaw, Phil Greening, Mike Catt and Matt Perry, the result kept England’s hope of a Six Nations Grand Slam firmly on track after a frantic start in London.

This was also the fixture in which Jonny Wilkinson overtook Rob Andrew as England’s all-time points scorers. Wilkinson only took 27 Test matches to surpass his Newcastle Falcons coach’s 396 point record.

Ending his England career with 1,179 points before ending his international career in 2011, Wilkinson’s record stood until Owen Farrell at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Because of the foot-and-mouth crisis in Ireland at that time in 2001, England’s wait for their fifth and final game of the tournament had to wait six months until October. Ireland won the game 20-14 in Dublin and put England’s Grand Slam hopes on the backburner.

2002, France 20-15 England

When these two teams met in Saint-Denis both teams had Grand Slam desires. Simply put, France suffocated England.

Starving their opponents of possession and a bright start laid the foundations for the victory. Fly-half Gérald Mereron scored the opening try just nine minutes in, converted his score and did the same just shy of there being 20 minutes on the clock when Imanol Harinordoquy crossed the whitewash.

It was a pivotal victory for France, who went on to secure their first Grand Chelem since 1998 thanks to later victories against Scotland and Ireland. 

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Serge Betsen’s outing in Paris is regarded as the finest of his 63-cap career. His dogged and relentless pursuit of Jonny Wilkinson led to the playmaker’s 74th minute substitution.

England head coach, Clive Woodward, later remarked that Betsen was the “only player that I can say was the single-handed reason we lost a match”.

2003, England 25-17 France

Just a day after Valentine’s Day in 2003, England shattered French hearts and any hopes of consecutive Grand Slam titles on the opening day of a new Six Nations campaign.

It was a poignant day at Twickenham Stadium. The flags flew at half-mast and there was a minute’s silence before the game following the death a day prior of two-cap England and Harlequins scrum-half, Nick Duncombe. 

In total Jonny Wilkinson notched 20 points on the day, while Jason Robinson dazzled from the very first minute and scored a trademark try in the 48th minute. For England this result paved the way for a third Six Nations win in four years, but most importantly a first Grand Slam in a World Cup year.

2004, France 24-21 England

By the time England had arrived in Paris for the final round of the 2004 Six Nations, their hopes of a Grand Slam victory had already been dashed.  Although there was a glimmer of hope for Clive Woodward’s side in retaining their title from a year prior if they picked up a win and an eight point winning margin. 

It was a mammoth task against a French side in their pomp. In contrast a win for France would help them to a fourth Grand Slam in eight years. There was added spice in the fixture when considering the previous autumn’s Rugby World Cup.

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The brilliance of Dmitri Yachvili saw the scrum-half slot four penalties, a conversion and score a try in the contest, while Imanol Harinordoquy once again returned to shatter the old enemy.

Late scores for Ben Cohen and Josh Lewsey gave England supporters faint hope of a comeback but could not prevent jubilant scenes from the home supporters at the full-time whistle.

2005, England 17-18 France

Less than two years on from their Rugby World Cup win, England looked unrecognisable. Now under the guidance of Andy Robinson, the side were lacking confidence when France rolled into west London in the second round and ended the match dumbfounded at how they let an 11-point lead at half time slip through their grasp.

Leading 17-6 at the break thanks to tries from Olly Barkley and Josh Lewsey, as well as the kicking of Charlie Hodgson, the side were undone by the unerring accuracy of Dmitri Yachvili.

He helped France register a first victory at Twickenham since 1997 with his six penalties at Twickenham and pile pressure onto an England team who saw Hodgson’s last gasp drop goal attempt drift wide of the uprights. France ultimately finished second overall as Wales won the tournament for the first time since 1994, while England endured their worst finish since 1987.

2006, France 31-6 England

Woeful. Embarrassing. Humiliation. That is how the press described England’s performance in this fixture 19 years ago. Andy Robinson’s team were hapless from start to finish.

Whether it was mis-judging the high ball or Charlie Hodgson hitting the posts with a penalty from kickable range, nothing that the visitors did came off. But for the hosts everything was quite the opposite.

Yet again Dmitri Yachvili was England’s chief tormentor and left the Stade de France turf with another 16 points in the contest to his name. It took just 43 seconds for the hosts to open the scoring when Florian Fritz opened the scoring and equalled their best winning margin over England from 34 years prior.

A week later Robinson made six changes to his starting lineup, while France carried kept the good times rolling and ended the tournament with the trophy in hand.

2007, England 26-18 France

Coming into the 2007 edition of the Six Nations there was much change for England. After a dismal autumn the team had parted ways with Andy Robinson and had appointed Brian Ashton in his place.

Naming Phil Vickery as captain, the Ashton’s tenure started superbly with wins against Scotland and Italy before being well beaten by Ireland 43-13 in the third round. With injuries marring his squad Ashton was forced to call upon youth, with Toby Flood, David Strettle, Tom Rees and Shane Geraghty all paying a major part in this success.

Unencumbered by the defeats of the previous years or the knowledge that England had not beaten France since the 2003 World Cup, they almost sauntered to victory. Flood and Geraghty traded penalties with David Skrela and Dmitri Yachvili, while a try for Flood and one for Mike Tindall gave the hosts a much-needed win.

2008, France 13-24 England

It had been eight years since England last won a Six Nations game against France in Paris but had beaten their hosts at the same venue just months prior in a World Cup semi-final.Marc Lièvremont was now in charge of the French and allowed his team to revert back to their flair-driven style of play.

Before kick-off Lièvremont poo-pooed England’s inclusion of 36-year-old Mark Regan at hooker, but himself neglected to include a recognised goal-kicker in his squad. Something he would regret as England battered their way to victory.

Paul Sackey’s try was the epitome of this. When Jamie Noon’s shoulder cannoned into Cedric Heyman’s midriff and the ball went loose, all Sackey had to do was kick the ball through and dot down. In total Jonny Wilkinson kicked 14 points, while debutant scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth added some gloss to the scoreline with his 79th minute try.

2009, England 34-10 France

It was notable that four matches into his time as head coach there was a malaise surrounding Martin Johnson’s England. Already in the 2009 Six Nations his team had succumbed to defeat against Ireland and Wales in the opening rounds, while his selection of Simon Shaw for the visit of France drew its own criticism.

Johnson’s former England teammate Lawrence Dallaglio had even described Johnson as “out of his depth” in the role and an opening weekend win against Italy was already a distant memory. Coming into the game France were riding the highs of beating Wales and Scotland, with their own Round 1 victory over Ireland also an afterthought.

No one could have quite predicted what followed. With a minute on the clock Mark Cueto had scored a try and before the half was done so had Riki Flutey, Delon Armitage and Joe Worsley. Mounting an unassailable 29-0 lead at the break, Flutey’s second score put the game completely out of reach for their visitors, who registered consolation tries through Dimitri Szarzewski and Julien Malzieu.

2010, France 12-10 England

France’s ninth Grand Slam was a long time in the making. It was 2004 that the side had last achieved the feat and although they had won the tournament twice in the meantime, there is nothing quite as sweet as doing it unbeaten.

In his third year in charge Marc Lièvremont had his team purring, Freddie Michalak was in his heyday and diamond in the rough, Mathieu Bastareaud, had been unearthed. Coming into the game, England had been criticised all tournament for a lack of enterprise.

Stumbling to a win over Ireland and dumbfounded by Scotland in a 15-all draw at Murrayfield, Martin Johnson rung in the changes in Paris. Including Chris Ashton for his England debt and restoring Ben Foden and Toby Flood to the starting side, it was a move that quickly paid off.

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Foden crossed the try line on the five minute mark to wipe out François Trinh-Duc’s early drop goal and set the wheels in motion in Paris. But a strong opening act faded to nothing as France clawed back the lead with three first-half Morgan Parra penalties and were resolute from that point onward.

2011, England 17-9 France

This game had a significant influence on how both of the teams’ Six Nations campaign was going to end. Both sides had desires to win the tournament and won each of their opening two fixtures and knew that a win at Twickenham was essential.

At the break nothing separated the two teams as a trio of penalties for Toby Flood and Dimitri Yachvili cancelled one another out. A try early in the second half and a Jonny Wilkinson penalty put England out of sight and on the way to their first Six Nations title since 2003 – although it was not a Grand Slam after their 24-8 loss to Ireland.

Wilkinson 52nd minute penalty meant he overtook Dan Carter to become Test rugby’s all-time leading points scorer. It was this performance that in some ways set the wheels in motion for Marc Lièvremont’s dramatic conclusion as France’s head coach.

Rumours of a rift between him and the players began to grow louder due to his public criticism of his players in the run-up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, where the players are believed to have coached themselves to the final in spite of former flanker.

2012, France 22-24 England

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. Just months prior to meeting in Paris, England had been vanquished from the Rugby World Cup 19-12 by France in the quarter-finals amid an off-pitch mire of controversy.

So to roll into the French capital and pick up a win was certainly a boon. There was a refreshed look to both these teams after the previous year’s World Cup.

Stuart Lancaster took charge of England in this tournament on an interim basis, while it was also Philippe Saint-André’s opening gambit with France.

This game is fondly remembered for Manu Tuilagi’s explosive 50m run-in, a score that was duly followed by a Ben Foden try five minutes later. Seeing out the game with a try for Tom Croft and an Owen Farrell penalty, it was a result that went a long way to secure Lancaster the England job full-time.

2013, England 23-13 France

A quick read through the previous 10 meetings of these two teams in Six Nations action and you can see that English optimism is not present. Since 2003 the side had never consistently beaten a France team that had won the tournament four times to England’s one.

Coming into this game England had beaten Scotland to the Calcutta Cup, Ireland in Dublin and were suddenly favourites to win the whole thing. This 23-13 win over the French at Twickenham only intensified things as the boots of Owen Farrell and Toby Flood, as well as Manu Tuilagi’s try-scoring exploits, set optimism at new heights.

Tuilagi had part of his ear torn off in the first tackle of the match but refused to be substituted to continue his part in the physically punishing victory. The damage caused by Louis Picamoles’ elbow meant that Tuilagi had to receive 19 stitches, two of which were internal, to repair the damage.

The result meant that England’s hopes of a first Grand Slam in a decade lived on until the final round of the Championship, where Wales completely outplayed Stuart Lancaster’s side in Cardiff to win 30-3 and win consecutive titles for the first time in three decades.

2014, France 26-24 England

If there is one thing that Le Crunch is never short of, it is drama. This time around it was a last gasp try from Gaël Fickou that got tongues wagging at the end of a contest that saw both sides grasp hold of momentum.

Less than a minute in France had the lead thanks to a Yoann Huget score and found themselves even further behind when the Toulouse wing dotted down again to help France mount a 16-3 lead with less than 20 minutes played. First Test tries for Mike Brown and Luther Burrell laid waste to the hosts’ lead and helped the visitors lead 24-19 in the closing stages of the game.

But with four minutes left Dimitri Szarzewski sent a 19-year-old Fickou over in the corner to level things up and Maxime Machenaud’s conversion won the game for France. It was only a third-ever loss for Stuart Lancaster in the Six Nations as England head coach, who again was unable to win silverware as Ireland won the tournament.

2015, England 55-35 France

‘Must-win’ is a phrase that is overused at times in sport, but in the context of this game for England it could not be more apt.

Ireland had put one hand on the trophy earlier in the day at Murrayfield, with England needing to win by 26 points or more against France to win a first Six Nations in four years. With a crowd of over 82,000 at Twickenham the stage was set for an enthralling game.  Boy did they get just that.

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Across 80 minutes England and France scored 12 tries, with English and Irish hearts were aflutter with nerves, exhilaration and utter despair all the same time. Quickly looking at the scorecard tells you that England did everything within their power to get that 26 point margin.

George Ford nailed all seven of his conversions in the match, missed just one of three penalties and after Benjamin Kayser’s 65th minute try piled pressure onto the English, they found a response with Jack Nowell’s second try of the game. They just could not find that little bit extra.

2016, France 21-31 England

French and English rugby had never been lower coming into the 2016 Six Nations Championship. At their home Rugby World Cup in the autumn, England had been dumped out of the competition in the group stages, while France exited embarrassingly off the back of a 62-13 loss to New Zealand in the quarter-finals.

France had replaced Philippe Saint-André with Guy Novès as their head coach, while the Rugby Football Union had appointed Eddie Jones as top dog – the first time a non-English coach had held the position.

While France toiled in search of identity, Jones had whipped England into shape and heading into this fifth round match-up with France needed a win to secure a first Grand Slam in 13 years.

Billy Vunipola, Mike Brown and Dylan Hartley were key performers, Maro Itoje made his England debut in the tournament and it also saw the start of the still-debated George Ford-Owen Farrell 10-12 axis in midfield. Unencumbered by the pressure of this fixture, Danny Care scored the opening try 11 minutes in and was followed over the whitewash by Dan Cole minutes later. 

Maxime Machenaud’s kicking did keep France in the contest, but an Anthony Watson try and late Farrell penalties scratched a long-lingering itch for English rugby.

2017, England 19-16 France

To keep the good times rolling after an unbeaten tenure to Eddie Jones’ time as England head coach, France reminded their hosts that defeat is only ever around the corner. A long-range Elliot Daly meant that the scores were 9-9 with 40 minutes still to play.

After that disjointed first-half at Twickenham, England recovered to win the clash in the second half thanks largely to Ben Te’o’s 70th minute try. For the first time since Eddie Jones had taken over as head coach it seemed like England had to rally dig deep. 

They had seemed hapless in preventing Rabah Slimani crossing the try line after some stupendous play from Sebastian Vahaamahina and Kevin Gourdon. But in finding a response the result meant that England surpassed their best winning run of 14 straight victories.

Later equalling New Zealand’s record of 18 consecutive wins before being beaten by Ireland 13-9 later in the Six Nations, England did retain their title in March.

2018, France 22-16 England

Coming into this fourth round match France’s hopes of winning the Six Nations were slim, while England’s rested on a knife’s edge. England needed to beat their hosts by four tries after Ireland’s 28-8 win over Scotland earlier in the day and then pick up a win the following weekend when the Irish descended upon west London.

Across the next 80 minutes France frustrated England and compounded their errors. Maxime Machenaud kicked all four of his penalties in the game, while Anthony Watson’s high challenge on Benjamin Fall not only saw him sent to the sin-bin, but France awarded a penalty try and put the home side out of sight despite a late fight back.

In the final round England lost to Ireland at Twickenham, a result that saw the visitors celebrate a Grand Slam at the full-time whistle and England had to lick their wounds after losing three Six Nations matches for the first time since 2006.

2019, England 44-8 France

This defeat for France has been the lowest point in the country’s recent history. Jacques Brunel’s team were nothing short of dismal as a rampant England team virtually walked past defenders.

Jonny May had a hat-trick within 30 minutes, as tries for Henry Slate and Owen Farrell meant that the result was in no doubt with less than an hour on the clock. It was clear that since the last World Cup the French had merely been treading water and with a gold rush of talent emerging from the ranks (Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack and Damien Penaud – to name just three), Brunel was not the right man to lead his country.

Ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, the FFR had already appointed Fabien Galthié as Brunel’s successor, but in an interesting move allowed the former France captain to shadow his soon-to-be predecessor at the tournament.

2020, France 24-17 England

Fabien Galthié’s opening game as France’s head coach could not have gone better. Instantly he deployed Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack as his starting half-back partnership, as well as a new style of play to run England ragged.

His team bombarded the England back-line with a full-on aerial assault and subjected George Furbank to a turgid England debut beneath stormy Parisien skies. France’s dominance handed the team a 17-0 lead at half-time and meant that England had not scored a point in the first half of a Six Nations match for the first time since 1988 (then the Five Nations).

Eddie Jones’ England did pull themselves back into contention as the game wore on, however a second score of the game from Charles Ollivon did enough to give the hosts a heroic start to a new decade.

2021, England 23-20 France

There was nobody in the stands as a late try for Maro Itoje snatched English victory from the jaws of defeat. Covid-19 meant that these two teams were playing one another months after contending against one another in the Autumn Nations Cup final and less than six months since England won the 2020 Six Nations.

At a sterile Twickenham it was the visiting team that led at half-time thanks to dazzling efforts from Antoine Dupont and Damien Penaud.  Already England’s egos were bruised by losses to Scotland and Wales, while France had not played a game since Round 2 after a Covid outbreak in the French camp.

Eddie Jones had chosen to shake-up his squad for this game, with Max Malins and Luke Cowan-Dickie notably handed starts. That element of unpredictability now appeared to be growing pains under the Australian who was heading into a tailspin that he could not get himself out of.

2022, France 25-13 England

What a difference a year makes. A year on from their last meeting in the Six Nations, there were 80,000 people at the Stade de France watching these two slug it out and both teams had a new look.

For England that came in the form of squad selection. Sam Simmonds was installed as England’s No. 8, Marcus Smith was starting fly-half and Joe Marchant had worked his way into the outside centre jersey. George Furbank was also at full-back. 

While England had new personnel, France had been transformed into contenders on the verge of a first Grand Slam since 2010. And this was the deciding game. In truth, Fabien Galthié’s side had made reasonably light work of the tournament. Their closest winning margin was four points, and Antoine Dupont was the name on everyone’s lips.

Tries for Gaël Fickou, François Cros and Dupont cancelled out all of England’s efforts to well and truly get the good times rolling again across the Channel.

2023, England 10-53 France

France’s dominance at Twickenham Stadium in this fixture summed up where each of the teams were. In a home Rugby World Cup year the French were purring and had found their best team, while England were a side in transition after the arrival of Steve Borthwick as head coach.

From the first minute France had the measure of their hosts, with flailing bodies in white shirts merely speed bumps on the way to the try line. At full-time the thousands of home fans booed their team of the field, with England suffering their heaviest ever defeat at home.

Irony of all ironies it was England who went furthest at the World Cup in France later that year. Fabien Galthiè’s team were knocked out at the quarter-finals by South Africa, while England finished third overall after dispatching Argentina in the Bronze Final.

2024, France 33-31 England

The last meeting between these two nations reminded you of everything this great contest had to offer.

Everyone already knew that Ireland had won the Six Nations for a second year running, so both nations left nothing to chance as they played this contest outside of Paris for the first time as the capital prepared for the Summer Olympics.

Both teams thrived at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon as six tris were scored over the contest, with Tommy Freeman’s score in the corner 75 minutes in driving the home crowd into despair and to rue their earlier draw with Italy all the more.

Ultimately it came down to Thomas Ramos’ 79th minute penalty from halfway to shatter England’s hopes and dash any hope of a second-place finish in the table. 

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