Lancaster proud of young stars after France win
ENGLAND continued their unbeaten start to the RBS Six Nations with victory over France on Saturday and coach Stuart Lancaster suspects there is even more to come from his young side.
Lancaster picked a starting XV with an average age of 24 and relatively little international experience between them, but England continued their 100 per cent winning run at this year’s championships with a 22-13 win at Twickenham.
Centre Manu Tuilagi, 21, scored England’s sole try of a bruising encounter, while team-mate Owen Farrell, also 21, successfully kicked four penalties before limping off with an injury to a quadriceps muscle.
And Lancaster, who confirmed Farrell’s injury will not keep him out of England’s next match against Italy, feels his young stars’ performance belied their years against more senior opponents.
“We’re young in terms of age, there were a lot of 22-24 year-olds out there and I thought the players showed a lot of maturity, playing a side that’s been to a World Cup final,” said Lancaster.
“It was a proper Test match and to show the composure we did, I thought by the end we were the better side in controlling the game.”