France 17 England 16England's record 14-Test unbeaten run ended at the Stade Velodrome inMarseille tonight when World Cup warm-up opponents France edged a disappointingcontest 17-16.
After Grayson hoisted England 16-14 ahead through a 60th-minute penalty,Woodward made a double substitution, sending on lock Simon Shaw for SteveBorthwick and replacing prop Graham Rowntree with Jason Leonard.
But another Michalak penalty - his third - meant the lead changed hands for asixth time, edging France 17-16 in front with 15 minutes of normal timeremaining.
England were afforded limited chances in attack, yet France hardly provedthemselves as master-finishers either, and the game desperately required a sparkof invention.
The visitors though, suffered another injury setback on 76 minutes whenTindall limped off. Andy Gomarsall replaced him, meaning a switch to the wingfor Healey.
England were up against it, and a frustrating second-half performance wassummed up when Sanderson dropped a straightforward pass in open play under nopressure.
It was not England's night, and their 18-month winning sequence came to asomewhat low-key end after Liebenberg charged down a last-gasp Grayson drop-goalattempt.