Toby Flood was once again wonderfully accurate kicking at goal © Getty Images

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Matches: England 17 - 9 France

Players/Officials: Tom Palmer | Mike Tindall

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: England | France

Picture Gallery: England 17-9 France - Six Nations

England kept their hopes of a Grand Slam alive with a 17-9 victory over France at Twickenham on Saturday. But who starred in Le Crunch?

Ben Foden: Finished his third Test try expertly after reacting to a loose ball and he stood up to everything France could throw at him in defence. 8/10

Chris Ashton: Opportunities were few and far between for England's strike runner in a ferociously tight encounter. When it came he made the wrong decision and will kick himself. 6

Mike Tindall: England's captain led from the front. Strong in defence he carried the ball with authority and was denied the try his performance deserved. 7

Shontayne Hape: An industrious performance from the Bath centre but his distribution skills were poor in the wet conditions. 6.

Mark Cueto: The England wing had few opportunities in attack but was solid in defence and pressurised the French back three. 6

Toby Flood: A difficult day to play his brand of running rugby but he kicked expertly and was tireless in defence before leaving the fray injured after 50 minutes. 6

Ben Youngs: Made some uncharacteristic handling errors but always a threat with the ball in hand and he kept the French defence on their toes. 6

Andrew Sheridan: Powerful early scrums had the France pack on the retreat but he lasted just 22 minutes before suffering a leg injury. 6

Dylan Hartley: Perpetual motion in the loose, a strong ball-carrier for England and part of a front row that stood up to one of the best around. 7

Dan Cole: Redemption for the tight-head who was wrongly penalised so often against France 12 months ago. His set piece was strong and got himself involved around the park too. 7

Louis Deacon: Not one of England's headline grabbers but the Leicester lock goes about his work with determination and he ran the lineout well. 7

Tom Palmer: A stellar performance from the Stade Francais second row who was virtually knocked out in the first half but epitomised an impressive England forwards display. 9

Tom Wood: It was only his third start for England but the rookie flanker was born for Test rugby and his ferocious breakdown work was key. 8

James Haskell: Contested fiercely at the breakdown - one of the features of his game at Stade Francais - as England matched the French back row. 8.

Nick Easter: Another strong performance from the consistent Harlequins No.8 who won the battle with opposite number Sebastien Chabal hands down. 7

Replacements:

Alex Corbisiero: Held his own on his second cap against the fearsome Nicolas Mas. 7

Jonny Wilkinson: Broke the world record with his first kick of the game and attacked the French line dangerously. 7

Danny Care: Brought a fresh zip behind his forwards. 6

Steve Thompson: Won 64th Test cap to equal Brian Moore's record as most capped England hooker. 6

Simon Shaw: Helped England get their driving maul going late in the day. 6

Hendre Fourie: A barrelling run from the Leeds flanker showed why the England management like him. 6

Matt Banahan: Little opportunity to make an impact. 6

France

Clement Poitrenaud: Originally dropped but reinstated after an injury to Maxime Medard, Poitrenaud endured a difficult afternoon as he spilled a couple of balls in an error-prone display. 5

Yoann Huget: The diminutive winger worked as hard to find space and break through a tireless English defence, but ultimately made little impact. 6

Aurelien Rougerie: A strong and effective runner in attack and solid in defence but failed to take his seize his chance when he couldn't collect Francios Trinh-Duc's chip through. 7

Yannick Jauzion: The experienced centre struggled to justify his recall to the starting XV ahead of Damien Traille. 5

Vincent Clerc: The winger packed much menace particularly in the first half but faded in second half as England took control of proceedings. 6

Francios Trinh-Duc: With a limited amount of front-foot ball he struggled to set his backline in motion and put his runners into gaps against a strong English defence. 6

Dimitri Yachvili: Controlled his forwards with purpose early on and provided some deft touches but missed a couple of kicks at goal and his influence waned. 6

Thomas Domingo: Carried well in the loose with one memorable collision with Toby Flood, but could not gain the ascendancy in the scrum that many anticipated. 5

William Servat: Solid enough in the set piece but he found few opportunities to display his aggressive running. Unlucky to be pulled back by the linesman following a clever short lineout move. 6

Nicolas Mas: The Perpignan prop was expected to lead France's assault on the English scrum but he fell foul of referee George Clancy and couldn't expose the inexperienced Corbisiero. 5

Julien Pierre: The second-row failed to reach the heights of his previous performances against Ireland and Scotland and was withdrawn with 20 minutes remaining. 5

Lionel Nallet: Claimed his lineout ball efficiently enough but he was overshadowed in the loose by the lung-bursting efforts from opposite number Palmer. 5

Imanol Harinordoquy: A tower of strength in the lineout for France but his move to flanker from No.8 did not pay off as he made little ground in attack. 6

Thierry Dusautoir: A typically tenacious and tireless effort from the French captain yielded 14 tackles and a turnover. 7

Sebastian Chabal: The former Sale Sharks No.8 drew one of the biggest cheers of the day as he spilled a simple kick forward. 6

Replacements:

Guilhem Guirado: The hooker saw only five minutes of action having replaced Servat. 5

Sylvain Marconnet: Replaced Domingo with 20 minutes left but could not make an impact in the scrum. 5

Jerome Thion: The second-row brought greater beef to the French pack. 6

Julien Bonnaire: Spilled one pass but was strong in the lineout and loose. Surely destined for a recall for against Italy. 7

Morgan Parra: Tried his best to lift the tempo of the French attack and to some effect. 6

Damien Traille: Came on early for a disappointing Poitrenaud and ran with real purpose. 7

Alexis Palisson: The winger looked bright in his brief outing. 6