If you were hoping for an easy England win, you would have been disappointed, but that was a thrilling way to end a bizarre year of international rugby. Good things are in store for the Six Nations with France looking so strong and so well-coached.

Thanks for reading, emailing and tweeting and see you next time. Bye for now.

The England head coach Eddie Jones speaks: “Great credit to France, they had a young team but played with no fear. They started the game well, a few things went their way, we got on the back foot ... and we had to collect ourselves at half-time ... our finishers did a superb job, and apart from Marler, none of them had more than 10 caps.

“We were just two or three per cent off ... we just needed to sharpen up, and their application to do that was absolutely outstanding.

“We just had to keep fighting ... Owen had one of those rare days, so we had to find another way to score points.

[On second-string France]: “We collect data on all those [France] guys - the difference in the back line to their first-choice guys is minimal, if there is a difference ... our performance wasn’t as sparkling as we’d have liked ... but it was a great game of rugby.”

And here is the match report of today’s action, from Robert Kitson:

And here is the winning kick:

Here is Farrell’s missed penalty attempt which would have won it early in the first period of extra-time:

So, on replay, the penalty that gave England the field position to score the equalising try was marginal at best. Selevasio Tolofua was competing for the ball after an England player was tackled and it looks like he was penalised for going off his feet, but it looks like you can argue he was knocked off his feet by some England counter-rucking.

Raphaël Ibañez is asked how he feels after that defeat: “I think it’s pride, just pride ... we didn’t get away with a win. But the boys just delivered so much. We congratulate them. Congratulations to England as well.

“Our gameplan worked pretty well. The players were so committed all week ... we just focused on our gameplan. The good thing is we’ve got so many talented players and I think they were outstanding today ... it’s a great opportunity for us as a coaching staff, to see the players who can perform at the highest level ... it’s very promising for the future.”

Dylan Hartley on pundit duty: “The game was there many a time to be won ... the history books won’t say how England played. There is a big ‘W’ there. They [France] are the form team, with the way that they played. Hopefully in the Six Nations we’ll see genuine competition between England and France.”

JC emails from Amsterdam: “England’s tactics seem to be a deliberate and sustained ideological assault on the concept of sport as entertainment. If rugby is a religion, England spent this afternoon smashing stained glass windows and tipping over gravestones. It’s hideous. Please World Rugby, do *anything* to the laws to make this stop. I beg you.

“That was a French third team with two training sessions together, yet England’s ambition went no further than to kick the ball high then yelp for penalties at the breakdown. I’ve watched and played this game for half my life. Much more of this and I’ll just watch the washing machine go round for two hours instead.”

A lovely turn of phrase there JC, thanks. Possibly a touch harsh on England, but it certainly wasn’t their best day. It’s little wonder that Jones was so animated in the closing stages, because it’s fair to say he’d have been roundly hammered in the media and by fans had England lost that. And he probably will be anyway.

Owen Farrell lifts the trophy. The fans cheer. Some white and red ribbon appears out of the sky. That turned out to be a far, far better spectacle than many expected. The French effort was superb - no more so than just before half-time when they repelled multiple phases by this England team, right on their own try line. England had enough in the end but they made a lot of errors, and perhaps a bit like the Rugby World Cup final, they looked a bit taken aback by the strength of the French challenge in the first half.

Andrew Cosgrove emails: “I disagree with you and Geoff Wignall. On another day, when Farrell had had his kicking boots on, England would have won this comfortably. It wasn’t pretty, but they did more than enough to win.”

Questions to answer, says our rugby correspondent, Robert Kitson:

Owen Farrell speaks: “We probably didn’t come out of the blocks in the first half ... but I thought the boys were excellent [in the second half]. They gave me a few chances of winning it, and I didn’t quite make them. The boys deserved the win after that second-half performance. There is always stuff to get better at, that will be highlighted, but I thought the attitude, to come out in that second half ... I thought it was a great effort. It’s been a good block for us, nine weeks together, we feel like we’ve grown again ... we’ll enjoy tonight. We could definitely hear the fans - and it was a dramatic game for them.”

Billy Vunipola talks to Amazon Prime: “It was quite dramatic ... but very glad to come out with the win. There’s a lot to work on, but the thing to take from this is we can play like we did today, and still grind out a win. France were outstanding, their young back row were challenging us all over the pitch.

“The Autumn Nations Cup has been awesome ... we’ll enjoy tonight and [laughing] I’m looking forward to the reviews tomorrow with Eddie!”

He’s not really, is he? Jones is going to hammer them for some of what went on today.

94 min: Itoje. Itoje, Itoje, Itoje! England have a penalty. Raka was under pressure after a kick to the corner. He slips two tackles but Curry gets him, then Itoje reaches over and tries to compete for the ball, or at least show the referee that he is doing so ... and England have another penalty to win it. Farrell is 4/8 so far.

92 min: England throw to the front at the lineout. Robson puts up a box kick. May does brilliantly to claim it. England move down further into French territory ... and Cowan-Dickie bursts for the line! But then France turn it over!

Geoff Wignall emails: “Luke, whoever scores next, there’s been only one winner today. Clue: it isn’t England.”

Yes. This is another final England were expected to win ...

88 min: Attacking lineout for France now. Itoje nicks it! England have the ball back! Overall, you have to say France look more tired than England. But they are competing.

87 min: France cough up a penalty for closing off the ball after a tackle. England have a lineout now just outside the France 22. Makalou does brilliantly at the lineout, and now France have a penalty! This is stunning entertainment no matter which way you look at it.

86 min: France on the attack. Carbonel lurking for the drop goal. France work through the phases. England keep tackling. France are trying to make ground to make the drop-goal easier but the England tackling is strong and France are making little headway. Now England win a penalty!

84 min: Billy Vunipola knocks on and France have a scrum in England half. England had a kick to win the Autumn Nations Cup ... and now they are defending a scrum in their own half. This is fantastic drama.

82 min: Penalty! England have a kick for the posts. Was it Tolofua or Makalou? Anyway, as usual with these very marginal and seemingly subjective decisions at breakdowns and scrums, it looked like it could have been the other way for Cowan-Dickie holding on.

We are waiting for the start of sudden death. We will have two 10-minute periods to play. I need to see that last penalty incident again. It sounded like maybe another ref would have said it was a fair turnover for France. Anyway, here we are. Sudden death. England will kick off.

Where were you when the first-ever Autumn Nations Cup final, between England and France, went to sudden death? People will be signing up for Amazon Prime, en masse, as we speak. People will be huddled around laptops, praying their WiFi holds up, across the land. The first score wins it. Penalty, drop-goal, try, you name it.

78 min: France are pinned back in their own 22 again. Raka puts boot to ball, punts it down the middle and runs after it. Ford fields the ball and calmly steps aside the on-rushing Raka. England build into the France half again, they win a penalty at the breakdown, and Ford nails the kick for the corner. England will have a lineout on the France line.

75 min: France hit back. Raka nearly gets through, but Marler makes a tremendous low tackle to bring him down. That would have been curtains for England if Raka had got through. But now France have a penalty ...

68 min: More stunning work at the breakdown by France. Watson is tackled and Gabin Villière, the winger, burrows away for the ball and wins the penalty. Carbonel will kick this and potentially take France seven points clear with 10 minutes to play.

67 min: Is one team going to find a moment of brilliance to settle this once and for all? France have looked less dangerous after half-time, but they’ve hardly had any ball ... it only takes one off-load and they could be in. But a converted score for England does it, too.

65 min: More possession for England - but another knock-on. The ball goes back to Daly, who sends a laser-guided touch-finder to the left-hand corner. Sinckler and George go off for England, with Cowan-Dickie and Stuart coming on.

63 min: More front-foot ball for England. Watson has another go on the right, but after he’s tackled, some wonderful jackling by Sekou Macalou gives France a penalty. Galthié and co. are thrilled with that, as well they might be. England have had a lot of ball and territory in this second half, but have very little to show for it.

58 min: England have another penalty, and it’s a pretty easy one from around the 22 in a central position, and yet ... Farrell pushes it wide of the right-hand upright. From the replays, it looks like the French players are giving him loads for that. “At what point does Farrell let someone else have a go?” asks commentator David Flatman. These missed kicks could indeed costly, is it four now?

Joe Marler on for England in the front row. Carbonel is waiting to come on for France because the France fly-half Jalibert has gone off injured. Inside the final quarter now.

55 min: France have made some changes. Neti comes on on for Kolingar, and Mauvaka for Bourgarit.

53 min: After a big hit by Jonny Hill of Exeter, England have a lineout close to the French line, but they lose the ball on their own throw. Fair to say that Jones is going to be livid with this amount of imprecision from England.

51 min: From the England scrum, there is tonnes of space that opens up on the right wing for Daly and Watson. It looks overwhelmingly likely to end in a try but somehow, through a mixture of imprecision by England and clever positioning by Dulin, they mess it up. But it’s brought back for a penalty which Farrell will kick. Eddie Jones shakes is head up in the stands and, I fancy, whispers an expletive to himself. And then Farrell misses the kick.

50 min: Moefana is smashed very hard by Billy Vunipola. That was marginal - nearly high and nearly a no-arms tackle to boot. But he gets away with it. Then there is a kicking duel between Daly and Dulin, which ends with a knock-on by Raka, and England will have a scrum.

48 min: Dulin’s first-half try for France is here:

47 min: England have a penalty after a no-arms tackle by Geraci.

44 min: France are trying to break out of their own 22. Danty, the No 12, gets the ball after their scrum put-in and goes route one, literally trying to run through his would-be tackler, and succeeds in sending his opponent flying backwards. That sort of sums up France’s approach so far in terms of their physical commitment.

42 min: An early penalty for England. They kick to the corner and will try to rumble a maul towards the French line. Anthony Watson sees a bit of space with the ball in hand and makes a surge for the line, but the French tackling is good again. England then work the ball left through the hands, and Daly has a sight of the try line, but again the French tackling impressive. England try a new approach, with Farrell sending a high cross-kick over to the right. Watson competes for it with Couilloud, and the ball bounces out of play, prompting a TMO check for who touched the kick last. It’s a France five-metre scrum.

39 min: What defence from France. Truly amazing. England just smashed away on their line for three minutes or so. They drove at the line time and again. They went through more than 10 phases. Then George Ford made a dart for the line, and looked likely to score, but was held up just short. Then England reverted to the short carries, trying to out-muscle France. And somehow, France found a way to keep England out. It’s finally lost forward by England. That was a massive win for France. Incredible effort from the visitors. Aldegheri was injured and has gone off.

35 min: Another penalty for France - Underhill is penalised for coming in at the side. Jalibert will kick.

33 min: More progressive, good rugby from France. They win a penalty for a high tackle by Henry Slade in midfield, on the scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud, following a few attacking phases. England maybe look a touch rattled by this very impressive start from the French side. The penalty, in France’s half, is punted into touch in the right-hand corner as they are attacking.

24 min: There is a little more front-foot ball for France and some more dangerous running from broken play. Jalibert then boots a low kick to touch in the corner. This is good stuff, it’s exactly what we wanted to see from France. OK, it’s exactly what I wanted to see from France.

22 min: Itoje wins England’s lineout ball on halfway. Then there are a couple of strong carries by Underhill and then Billy Vunipola in midfield. France are certainly not taking a backward step in defence, though, and England’s questions with the ball in hand are all being answered so far. Ford decides to send another high kick up, and is nearly charged down ... then it’s ball back with France, and Dulin sends a brilliant kick right down the line which bounces handily into touch in English territory.

14 min: Jalibert sends a massive punt downfield for France. Daly kicks it back. France win a penalty at the breakdown in midfield, and Brice Dulin, the full back, sends it into touch on the England 22.

11 min: England throw an attacking line-out to the front. Cameron Woki, the France No 6, goes up against Joe Launchbury to try and win it, and is penalised by the referee after slapping down his opponent’s hand while they were both in the air. Farrell will kick for goal again. Farrell misses! It’s still 3-0.

9 min: Steve Ditchburn emails: “Absolute pathetic start from the ref with at least four French players in front at the kick-off - why do they not bother to check? It is rather important.”

I didn’t see that but then again, I do have typing to do. The ref should be on top of it, you are right.

7 min: Dorian Aldegheri is penalised at that scrum, going up against Genge in the front row. England win a penalty in front of the posts and will kick for goal.

4 min: A very good touch-finder by George Ford pins France back inside their own 22. France win their lineout, but then a knock-on gives England a scrum just inside the French 22 in a central position and a very handy attacking platform ...

2 min: Early defending to do for England. They manage to turn the ball over, kick back to Jalibert, who puts up a Garryowen deep into English territory. England secure the ball initially, but then some strong counter-rucking sees the visitors win the ball back. A grubber kick is attempted for Raka to run on to, on the right wing, but he is nowhere near it. Still - impressive physicality from France in the opening exchanges. Then there is a crunching hit by Billy Vunipola on Raka.

The teams are on the pitch. We have a moment before kick-off to remember Christophe Dominici, who died last month. Galthié, up in the stands, smiles as he remembers his friend and teammate.

Now for the national anthems - and then a moment for the players to take a knee, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and as an important message against racism.

If you missed them, here are our Autumn Nations Cup match reports from yesterday.

Wales v Italy:

Ireland v Scotland:

Kick-off is less than 10 minutes away. What are your expectations for this one? Send me your thoughts on on email or Twitter.

Eddie Jones talks to Amazon Prime: “In the Rugby World Cup final we probably sat back a little bit. We didn’t really attack the week. This week we’ve attacked it, and worked out how we can get better.

“The rugby [in general recently] has been good, it’s been hard, sometimes rugby’s like that. We know they [France] will play in the structure that Galthié likes ... they’ve got a big squad and they’re all attuned to that pattern.

“It’s about how much time and space they get. If we take away their time and space, maybe the inexperience might count. The game will decide that.”

Raphaël Ibañez talks to Amazon Prime: “It’s a shame we have such a young group of players ... but we have to deal with the rules between the French federation and the league. I hope to see energy and physicality from this young team.”

We saw some good rugby yesterday. And Ugo Monye, our rugby columnist, believes now is not the time to pick apart ‘boring’ rugby in view of what a demanding year it’s been for many clubs, players and federations:

The Amazon Prime panel have just had a say on the recent chorus of disapproval on supposedly boring rugby. Habana had a decent stat - in England’s Rugby World Cup semi-final win against New Zealand they only kicked the ball two times less than they have, on average, in Test matches this year.

The England head coach, Eddie Jones, is under no illusions about how France are improving under Fabien Galthié.

“When they make a half-break or slip an offload, the whole team comes to life and it’s like they’re playing in the backyard,” he said. “They are taught from an early age to have good support lines and their ability to keep the ball alive is outstanding. I am excited that France are doing it their own way: we have to paddle hard because if we don’t, our boat is not going to go faster than theirs.”

Dylan Hartley and Bryan Habana are on pundit duty with Gabby Logan presenting for Amazon Prime. Hartley just described England’s Maro Itoje as ‘an annoyingly brilliant rugby player who makes his own luck. He is always in the right place at the right time.”