For the first half of England's match in Paris, they looked well off the Rugby World Cup pace but their late rally to lose by five points would have put some gloss on the performance. 

England's poor set piece and game management will give Stuart Lancaster much to ponder as he prepares to name his final 31-man squad in the coming days. We pick out three players whose chances will have improved after the Paris match and those who failed to seize the opportunity.

THREE UP

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Jack Nowell

England's back three saw barely any ball for much of the game but when Nowell had the slightest glimpse of broken field in front of him, he attacked it and caused a brief moment of urgency in the French defence. He looked the more assured of the two wingers and also helped keep out France at one stage when he made the correct call to run out of his line and force a knock on from Mathieu Bastareaud with a man on the outside.

Danny Cipriani

Though he was being played out of position at fullback, Cipriani showcased his versatility to the England management with an assured performance and a try. He also straightened up England's drifting attack and brought real purpose to their strike moves. World Cup squads are a difficult beast as you have to get the most options out of the players you pick so, that Cipriani did well at fullback, given he is a fly-half, will have aided to his claims for a spot in the final 31.

Mike Brown

There are few harder places to play than the Stade de France at the best of times let alone after a long layoff. Though Brown will not enjoy seeing Yoann Huget's try again as he was bamboozled by the French winger's footwork, he was solid under the high ball and did well when attempting to get England field position. He was also a key protagonist in England's attempted rally and put in a delightful pass for Jonathan Joseph's try. The No.15 battle is an intriguing one for Lancaster after Alex Goode did well last week.

THREE DOWN

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Tom Youngs

England's lineout was again unreliable as they lost three under Youngs' stewardship. He looks set to be England's first choice No.2 heading into the World Cup but the ease at which France picked off their lineout will worry Graham Rowntree. The lineout was similarly shaky last week.

George Ford

His conversion for Joseph's try was superb but the Bath man looked short of his impressive Six Nations form. The battle for the fly-half jersey is an intriguing one as for so long it was Owen Farrell's shirt but then along came Ford. Farrell's assured showing last week means the No.10 pecking order is now more clouded.

Dan Cole

England's scrum buckled against the French front-row and Dan Cole had an uncharacteristic off night. Like the fly-half situation, the No.3 order may be re-jigged ahead of the opener with Fiji as Davey Wilson shored it up when he came on.