? 'We made a lot of mistakes in first half' of 17-9 win
? Manager happy with performance of Alex Corbisiero
England took a huge step towards their first grand slam for eight years but their manager, Martin Johnson, who led the side in 2003, acknowledged that they had to battle to overcome France 17-9 after a nervous first half.
It needed the boot of Jonny Wilkinson to steady those nerves after 51 minutes when the replacement landed a penalty to pass Dan Carter's world record for points scored. The kick takes Wilkinson to a personal tally of 1,190 points. Johnson said he was confident Toby Flood, who limped off with a knee injury a minute earlier, would recover to face Scotland on 13 March.
Johnson said: "When we played Italy we scored early and it became a question of how many points we would score, but this was a real Test match. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half and the ball was greasy and we came under pressure at rucks and mauls. We weren't accurate enough, but we stayed calm at half-time and improved after the break."
Johnson admitted that a crucial mistake after the break, when France's centre Aur�lien Rougerie nudged the ball forwards after crossing the tryline, had been crucial. "If they had scored then it might have altered the course of the match. But we had chances ourselves. We had to fight and graft out there and the back row tackled themselves to a standstill. Alex Corbisiero did very well after coming on in the front row for [Andrew] Sheridan."
The England captain, Mike Tindall, said: "It was a good old-fashioned battle and it is a sign of a progressing team that we can dig ourselves out of a corner, because after the interval we came out flying." The France coach, Marc Li�vremont, who spiced up the build-up to this match with a dollop of Dijon mustard by suggesting he had little love for the English, admitted France had been beaten by the better side: "They are a very strong team."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/26/six-nations-martin-johnson-england-france
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