England will face France in the Autumn Nations Cup at Twickenham next week after Les Bleus thrashed Italy 36-5 in Paris on Saturday.
On the night that they remembered Christophe Dominici, who died at the age of 48 this week, France looked to a new generation as a side featuring 13 changes made light work of the Azzuri.
The players wore his nickname 'Domi' on their left sleeves and a giant photo of Dominici covered a section of the empty Stade de France stands.
"He had the gift of sharing," former teammate Vincent Clerc said on French television.
"He was someone we liked having next to us."
The visitors briefly led 5-3 when Carlo Canna ran in a 24th-minute try, but they were Italy's only points of the night.
Jonathan Danty got his first France try in the 35th minute, Gavin Villiere scored on debut in the 55th, before experienced players Baptiste Serin, Teddy Thomas and Sekou Macalou also crossed.
🗣 YOUR man of the match @SGUnderhill on that hard-fought win in Wales💪#WALvENG #AutumnNationsCup pic.twitter.com/wIkrVGA2NJ
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 28, 2020
England coach Eddie Jones compared Wales' threat of a comeback in his side's 24-13 victory at Parc y Scarlets to watching the horror film 'Psycho'.
An 11-7 lead failed to reflect the visitors' control of the first half and a hard-fought third quarter was fraught with danger as Wayne Pivac's men threatened a comeback when successive Dan Biggar penalties reduced the deficit to 18-13.
But England powered home through the boot of Owen Farrell to secure their place in the decider, which will be played in front of 2,000 fans next Sunday.
"At halftime it could have been a 'Psycho' horror movie. The woman goes to the shower and you know what's coming from behind the shower curtain," head coach Jones said.
"We had one little wonky period for around 10 minutes in the second half but generally we had game control so I was really pleased about that."
England's last defeat was against France at the start of the 2020 Six Nations - a competition they subsequently won - and since then they have compiled a series of solid if unspectacular wins.
Jones, who saw Henry Slade and Mako Vunipola touch down for his pre-match favourites, wants to end the year with a bang.
"We don't feel like we've played our best rugby yet so it's our last game. It's our grand final of 2020 and we want to make sure we put on our best performance," Jones added.
READ MORE
WHAT WERE YOU SAYING: All Blacks captain Cane and Foster silence the critics
WE'RE BACK! All Blacks with one hand on Tri Nations trophy as Pumas Caned
