England XV were beaten 35-19 by France in Vannes on Friday night as Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Noah Caluori made their first appearances in the uncapped warm-up fixture.
The match was framed as a final audition before England begin their Nations Championship campaign against South Africa on 4 July, but Steve Borthwick’s wider group left Brittany with more evidence of the gap still to close.
France built a 28-12 lead before England’s clearest late chance came through Janse van Rensburg, only for the Bristol Bears centre to spill the ball with the line open after coming on during a wave of second-half changes, according to Sky Sports.
England’s Nations Championship Picture Sharpens
The result will not count as a full Test cap, but the selection implications are still useful. Janse van Rensburg’s eligibility route has already made him one of England’s more intriguing midfield options, while Caluori’s involvement gave Borthwick another look at youthful back-three depth.
England now move toward a much harder assignment against the Springboks with a reminder that experimental fixtures still carry selection consequences. The defeat was not terminal, but the loose handling and missed chances in Vannes leave Borthwick with decisions to make before Johannesburg. That makes the review of the debutants as important as the scoreline.
