England youngsters grind down France
Lancaster says players showed much maturity against more experienced opponents but had special praise for his captain Chris Robshaw
England coach Stuart Lancaster said there was more to come from his youthful side after they moved closer to a Six Nations grand slam with a 23-13 victory over World Cup finalists France at Twickenham.
"Our players know they have been through a very tough 80 minutes. France brought their 'A' game and put us under a lot of pressure," said Lancaster.
"It shows a great level of maturity for a young side, average age of 24, 200-odd caps, that's it, and playing a side that's been to a World Cup final and have lots of world-class players and 500 caps in their side."
While the ultimate goal for Lancaster is to guide the team to Webb Ellis trophy glory when England stage the 2015 World Cup, the short-term outlook remains hugely encouraging.
In beating a vastly improved France, who having been installed as pre-tournament favourites now find themselves languishing at the bottom of the Six Nations table after three straight defeats, England continued to make good on the promise they showed in a record-breaking 38-21 win over the All Blacks at Twickenham in December.
They started the Six Nations with contrasting wins over Scotland (38-18) and away to Ireland (12-6) but France proved their sternest opponents of the championship thus far.