Coles on the scoresheet but Saints duo can't help England XV claim victory
Alex Coles grabbed a try for an England XV at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, but Steve Borthwick’s side suffered a late defeat to a France XV.
Coles dotted down during the first half, and he was later joined on the field by Saints team-mate Trevor Davison, as the tighthead prop got some game time from the bench.
But France mounted a late comeback to snatch a 26-24 success.
With 13 England players on British & Irish Lions duty, head coach Steve Borthwick selected three uncapped players in the starting 15 and a further two among the replacements.
And England captain Jamie George said: “I was really proud of a lot of what we did.
“I think it showed we have a lot of potential and showed the difference of when we are right on it and when we're not.
"We allowed France back into the game and we have a lot to fix up with our maul.
“The bare minimum that this team should be about is character, fight, spirit, that kind of thing. I was really pleased with that and some of the big performances, with younger players stepping up.
“Guy Pepper I thought was outstanding so it's really exciting that those guys are now going to kick on and hopefully have a big impact in Argentina.”
George had been part of the Lions training squad to help prepare the team for their fixture in Dublin on Friday night, meaning he had minimal time training with England.
The Test centurion rejoined the England camp on Wednesday and having seen the Lions defeated by Argentina, he is wary of the challenge Los Pumas will pose ahead of England’s tour of Argentina and the USA.
“The team is in a good place,” George said. “We wanted to win today, we always want to win whenever we put on an England shirt, so we're disappointed with the result but it was a good start.
“We haven't been together for a huge amount of time, I only came in on Wednesday. We have a lot of growth, we saw how good Argentina were last night, but there is a lot to be excited about.”
England’s next match takes place on Saturday, July 5 at 8.40pm in La Plata, where they will face Argentina for the first time since the third-place play-off at the 2023 Men’s Rugby World Cup.