An injury-time try from Lydia Thompson saw England Woman topple France 29-25 to successfully defend their European Cup crown.
Thompson seals memorable fightback
An injury-time try from Lydia Thompson saw England Woman topple France 29-25 to successfully defend their European Cup crown.
England the Six Nations Grand Slam champions were on the brink of defeat in the 'winner-takes-all' clash in Rovereto, Italy.
However, despite trailing 25-14 they clawed their way back into the match before Thompson crossed for the crucial score.
Worcester win Thompson scored two tries in total to cap a dramatic tournament, which saw her make her England debut seven days ago. Katherine Merchant and Sally Tuson also crossed for tries, while Emily Scarratt three conversions and a penalty.
England head coach Graham Smith said: "This has been a tour of opportunity for all the players involved and I can safely say every single player involved has taken this opportunity with both hands.
Scintillating
"This was a scintillating game, but as a coach a hard game to watch. We certainly controlled the first half but after the restart it was a different matter and France took control when we couldn't get our consistency going and we did not defend as well.
"We also gave away too many penalties and France were able to take those points and that put us in a precarious position.
"However, we never gave up and after making some changes from the bench we took our opportunities, with Sally Tuson scoring a late try and then Lydia Thompson touching down for the crucial score in extra time.
"We are obviously delighted to have won the European Cup and defended our title but I am more delighted about the fact that we have underlined what talent we have coming through our system.
"It has also been great to have Simon Middleton on board as assistant coach for this championship. He has made a real impression and we are fortunate to have a coach of his calibre involved in the England set-up."
