France 12 England 10: French underline to Johnson that growing pains are worth it

The France coach kept his post-match duties to a minimum on Saturday night because, after two painful years of rebuilding Les Bleus, he had a grand slam to celebrate.

Lievremont started from scratch when he took charge after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, using over 70 players in two years and suffering some heavy defeats along the way.

Only 12 months ago, England scored five tries in 42 minutes against France as they romped to a 34-10 victory at Twickenham.

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But Lievremont's no pain, no gain attitude bore fruit in the Parisian rain as France produced a typically English performance to win 12-10 and complete their first Six Nations clean sweep since 2004.

"This is a very nice baby – even if the birth was quite difficult," said Lievremont.

"For the first time we have reached the end of a series or a tournament and I can be satisfied."

Johnson has not been quite so ruthless in his attempts to build a new England. His win-at-all-costs mentality would never contemplate such open experimentation.

But 20 players have made their England debuts in 19 Tests and the growing pains have been hard to bear at times, both inside and outside the camp.

England have laboured to victories over Italy and Argentina this season, drawn 15-15 with Scotland and lost narrowly to Ireland and France.

In all the key areas – tries, points, turnovers – they were worse in this year's Six Nations than last. Johnson conceded many of the performances had not been good enough.

But England finally showed a glimpse of their true selves in Paris, pushing France to the brink with their best attacking performance of the championship.

Johnson still cut a frustrated figure because of the result but England had finally begun to live up to their promises of progress, which sounded so hollow until now.

"It is not just the public who have been disappointed. There has been some private disappointment. We are not living in a world where we think we are great," reflected Johnson.

"It is anguish. We live and breathe it. We are frustrated because we lost but I said to the guys as France picked up the trophy 'you have played the grand slam champions and you took them all the way'.

"We have known we were capable of a performance like that. I have never doubted we are capable of it – but that is why it has been frustrating.

"I have always said that if we were playing as well as we can, then fine. But we know we can do those things better.

"The public only see the performances and at times it hasn't been good enough. We see the team off the field and how it has developed."

That development took a potentially significant step forward against France. The performance, even in defeat, will do more for the squad's development than any number of drab victories over the Pumas or Azzurri.

Ben Foden announced his arrival on the Test stage with a try and confident all-round display, Chris Ashton's England debut on the wing was encouraging while Leeds-born Danny Care injected tempo into the game.

Tight-head prop Dan Cole struggled as France dominated the scrum but he has developed promisingly through the tournament while lock Tom Palmer forced his way back into the fold.

"Ben Foden has come of age at full-back. Everyone will say 'you should have picked him earlier' but I think we did a good job of managing him into Test rugby," said Johnson.

"His counter-attacking, his play under the high ball was great. Mark Cueto was outstanding again. Chris Ashton has played a Test match and handled it very well. Danny Care played his best game for England. Toby Flood managed the week well after replacing Jonny Wilkinson.

"We have good competition within the squad. We would like another game next week but the guys now have a couple of months to play domestic rugby before we go on tour to Australia."

France: Poitrenaud, Andreu (Malzieu 73), Bastareaud (Marty 51), Jauzion, Palisson, Trinh-Duc, Parra, Domingo (Poux 55), Servat (Szarzewski 53), Mas, Nallet, Pierre (Chabel 59), Dusautoir, Bonnaire, Harinordoquy (Lapandry 53). Unused replacement: Yachvili.

England: Foden, Cueto, Tindall (Tait 53), Flutey (Wilkinson 61), Ashton, Flood, Care, Payne, Hartley (Thompson 41), Cole (Wilson 41), Shaw (Palmer 15), Deacon, Worsley (Haskell 64), Moody, Easter. Unused replacements: Youngs.

Referee: B Lawrence (New Zealand).

Scorers

France – Pens: Parra 3. Drop goal: Trinh-Duc.

England – Try: Foden. Con: Flood. Pen: Wilkinson.

MATCH FOCUS

Hero: Ben Foden

The Northampton full-back, brought in for the axed Delon Armitage, showed the pace and clinical finishing England have been missing when he crossed for the game's opening try.

Villain: Dan Cole

The England forward gave away crucial penalties, which enabled France to open a 12-7 half-time lead. A liability in the scrum, Cole was replaced at half-time but came back on for the injured Tim Payne.

Key moment

Half-time: England make changes in the pack and the French threat is nullified but their defence holds firm.

Ref watch

Bryce Lawrence: "He's just picking whatever law he wants," said England legend turned pundit Brian Moore.

Verdict

England manager Martin Johnson felt his team came of age in Paris – but he was ultimately left frustrated as France sealed the grand slam. They are the best team in Europe by a distance and, at this stage, Marc Lievremont's team are a smart bet for next year's World Cup. The same cannot be said for England. Not unless the improvement continues.

Quote of the day

I know as a player how much this team has left to give, and we have another 30 per cent to go as a team.

– New England captain Lewis Moody.