Can Borthwick's side make their dramatic win a turning point?

England's last-gasp victory over France could signala new dawn but may simply be the law of averages at play

- Gerard Meagher

Not quite the complete works of Shakespeare, but eventually the monkeys and their typewriters were going to script a last-gasp England victory. Leaving a frazzled Twickenham on Saturday night you could not help but wonder how much significance the history books will end up affording this thrilling contest.

Has a corner been turned, has "the dam broken" as Ben Earl had promised it would, or was this, as captivating as it was, simply evidence that a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day? That while there are no certainties in professional sport, if England kept putting themselves in contention in the final throes of matches, that if they came up against a side with what at times looked like a nihilistic contempt for the try-line, eventually, after all those near misses, they would end up on the right side of the scoreboard. Is this a new dawn or simply the law of averages at play?

For all that Steve Borthwick talked about "processes" after the 26-25 triumph against France, about hard work, staying on task and incremental improvements, he said far more at the final whistle without uttering a word. He was caught on camera, hand to his mouth, eyes shut, relief seeping out of every pore. It was the briefest of moments, jolted out of it by a congratulatory slap on the back, but a demonstration of just how much pressure he was under after a run of seven defeats in nine Tests, six of them by a score or less.