'England's worst Six Nations is an unfair reflection'

I knew England were going to deliver something against France in Paris the moment I watched the warm-up.

“In his latest BBC Sport column, England World Cup winner Matt Dawson discusses England's last-gasp defeat by France in Paris and what is next for Steve Borthwick's side, who finished with one Six Nations win”

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The intensity was there straight away. Everyone looked dialled in, focused and, most importantly, confident.

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The messaging looked clear and the players looked like they believed in what they were about to do.

That was a big shift from their first defeat by Italy last weekend.

In that game, England went too kick-heavy and drifted away from what actually makes this team dangerous.

I said the players have to take some accountability for that and take control on the pitch.

In Paris you could see from the warm-up that the physicality and the mentality were going to be there.

But would they go out and play?

Would they back themselves?

From the opening five minutes, they did exactly that. England knew that to beat France you have to score at least 40 points.

They scored 46 and still came up short, but I am incredibly proud of that performance.

Seven tries in the back-to-back Six Nations champions' own backyard is the blueprint to how this side should play.

The best teams have players who take ownership of their own destiny.

England did that in Paris and were only the finest of margins away from one of their great Six Nations wins.

Fine margins are often the difference between a title-winning side and one still building towards it.

Thomas Ramos' last-gasp penalty to win the championship for France came after a handful of moments England will replay in their minds for a while.

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Henry Pollock did brilliantly to steal the ball late on but, instead of taking contact and securing it, he tried to move it and possession was lost.

Ollie Chessum might also look back and think he could have edged a little closer to the posts to make the kick easier for Fin Smith, who himself will be frustrated at leaving points out there.

Those are the moments you write down and burn into your memory, because when they come around again - and they always do in Test rugby - you want the instinct to be automatic.

The best teams make winning those moments a habit.

However, there are still valid questions.

“In his latest BBC Sport column, England World Cup winner Matt Dawson discusses England's last-gasp defeat by France in Paris and what is next for Steve Borthwick's side, who finished with one Six Nations win”

BBC

You can ask why they produced the performance they did against Ireland earlier in the tournament, and why they did not respond quickly enough after losing to Scotland.

If England revert to the kind of approach they showed against Italy when they face South Africa, head coach Borthwick will rightly face criticism.

But the management now have a clearer picture of how this England team should play.

Understanding the flow of games - when to control things and when to attack - is incredibly valuable.

Now it is about the players taking ownership - like in Paris - and carrying it forward.

'It felt like the Itoje of old'

A lot of England's performance was built around a vintage display from Maro Itoje.

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It felt like the Itoje of old - the one who was picking up man-of-the-match awards almost every week for a couple of seasons.

He looked completely locked in, and when he plays like that the whole team tend to follow.

Alongside him, Ellis Genge, Ollie Chessum, Alex Coles, Ben Earl and Tommy Freeman followed his lead and put in huge shifts.

The physical tone had to be set to compete with France - and England absolutely did that.

There had been some questions around Itoje's campaign coming into the game.

Fitness issues, personal circumstances and the challenge of trying to lead a side that had been short on confidence at times all raised doubts about his inclusion.

But I never doubted he would respond.

He stepped up as an inspirational leader and showed exactly why he is England captain.

If England are to have any chance at the 2027 World Cup, an in-form Itoje, who is still learning his trade as an international captain, is absolutely pivotal.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Alastair Telfer.