Ben Youngs scored two tries and was named man of the match as England beat France 55-35 at Twickenham but just missed out on the RBS 6 Nations title.Needing a 26-point winning margin to deny Ireland the crown, Youngs gave England a flying start with a try in the opening minutes.
But they were then shocked by two quickfire scores from the visitors before resuming control in the lead-up to half-time.
Youngs added a second try with the other England scores coming from Jack Nowell (2), Anthony Watson, George Ford and Billy Vunipola.
In the end, England were just six points short of matching Ireland’s record, but finished second in the table for a fourth year.
At the final whistle Youngs told BBC Sport: “We really gave it a crack but you cannot let them get back in the game. It’s tough.”
Dan Cole earned his 50th England cap in the front row, with Tigers colleague Geoff Parling at lock, and Tom Youngs coming off the bench on the hour mark.
Earlier in the day, Tigers hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini had captained Italy against Wales, with club colleague Michele Rizzo alongside him in the front row and Robert Barbieri among the replacements. But the Azzurri had no answer to a second-half onslaught from the Welsh who won 61-20 in Rome.
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England fall just short in thrilling finale
21 March 2015 7:07 PM
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England fall just short in thrilling finale
21 March 2015 7:07 PM
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