England crowned Autumn Nations Cup winners after dramatic sudden death 22-19 final victory over France

England’s blushes were spared as they scraped past a third-string France to win the Autumn Nations Cup on Sunday.

Eddie Jones’ side triumphed 22-19 in sudden death thanks to captain Owen Farrell’s matchwinning penalty – in a game they looked destined to lose.

England were trailing 19-12 inside the final minute of normal time when Luke Cowan-Dickie bundled over to score.

Farrell, who had been off-key with his kicking beforehand, nailed the crucial conversion to force the game into overtime.

And within minutes of the extra period, Farrell missed a straightforward penalty to clinch the game there and then as his effort struck the right-hand post.

However, he redeemed himself in second half of sudden death by nailing a penalty from a tough angle to clinch the title for England.

The match at Twickenham was the first time fans had been able to attend following the UK government’s easing of lockdown regulations and with London in tier two. As a result 2,000 supporters were able to cheer on the hosts.

The defeat was harsh for a thrilling France side who were devoid of all their best players. However, their rebuild is in full flow as they gear up towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup on home soil.

Elsewhere, Ireland finished third after beating Scotland 31-16. Wales’ poor 2020 ended on a high by swatting aside Italy 38-18 to finish fifth.

Fiji finally got to feature in the tournament, after missing the entire group stage due to a mass coronavirus outbreak, and they demonstrated their class with a high-scoring 38-24 win over Georgia in the seventh/eighth play-off.