England captain Corry looks to the skies in despair in Paris

England slipped to their worst defeat for 20 years against a French team who were little more than adequate themselves.

BBC Sport attempts to decipher where it all went wrong - with help from those involved, rugby experts and our ScrumV messageboard users.

England made 27 errors during the match and once again struggled to control the ball at the breakdown.

What few chances they created were invariably spoiled by players dropping the ball, assuming the pass went to hand in the first place, while their tactical kicking was also poor.

The coach:
Whenever we had the ball we either kicked poorly, missed touch, or we knocked on and turned it over.
England coach Andy Robinson

The expert:
Forget lack of ambition; forget the argument between a narrow or wide game; how about very basic skills such as ball retention, passing and simple tactical nous?
Former England hooker Brian Moore:

ScrumV users:
The contact skills were unbelievably bad. The general handling and lines of running were schoolboy.
Leaguefanbelfast

However much the management is to blame due to the game-plan, the players are responsible for the basic skills of catching, passing, tackling and the contact situation.
Bigjt11

England failed to make one line-break during the entire match, and they spent most of the game trying to play from several yards behind the gain line.

England centre Tindall made little impact on the French defence

The much-criticised midfield never looked like threatening the French defence, while England's big men struggled to make ground through the middle or round the fringes.

The player:
England get lost when they're unsettled. They do lack creativity. A few years ago the English game was much more physical than the French, but we've caught them up.
France flanker Olivier Magne

The experts:
England never got over the gain line. Most of the England forwards took the ball far too deep and couldn't give the backs a platform to perform.
Former Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies

There were so many basic mistakes on both sides but England never looked like scoring a try. They never threatened.
Former England fly-half Rob Andrew

ScrumV user:
I don't think changing the players will make much difference until AR and his team of muppets change the England game-plan. What use are creative players and strike runners, when they are expected to crash into the opposite number and recycle?
Allezlesnoirs

England's problems stemmed from a lack of pace and creativity to go with their undoubted power.

When teams match them physically, as France did, England appear to have no other options, with their poor running lines and lack of snap in the passing cruelly exposed.

The players:
If we knew what was the problem we'd have sorted it out straight away.
England centre Jamie Noon

We couldn't do anything right. We were in the right spirit for the game, but we gave the game away with errors.
England captain Martin Corry

The expert:
There was no department where England managed to get the upper hand. They didn't trouble France in the scrum, at the line-out or the breakdown.
Rob Andrew

ScrumV users:
We've been covering just how badly we've fallen behind the top teams with guts, muscle and attrition for too long and eventually it had to give. This result has been coming.
YouShouldBeSoLucky

I was in the pub and someone said 'we haven't got a plan B'. My response was 'there is no point worrying about plan B when we can't even play plan A!'. The team was picked to bosh it up the middle so why was Tindall taking the ball stationary and not running hell for leather at Michalak and Traille?
Pumpsticks

When England won the World Cup in 2003 there seemed no reason why they couldn't continue to carry on steamrollering the opposition for some time to come.

Robinson has some difficult choices to make following Sunday's defeat

But with the 2007 World Cup just over a year away, a successful defence seems a remote possibility.

The coach:
Since I've been working as a coach this is by far the most disappointing performance. It's really going to affect my thought processes in preparation for the World Cup.
Andy Robinson

The experts:
Some players have got to be on final warnings now. Andy Robinson gave them another chance after the Scotland defeat but they haven't taken it.
Former England centre Jeremy Guscott

England's humiliation in Paris was an accident waiting to happen and should force the coaching staff to acknowledge that their limited playing style has reached a dead end. In a way this heavy defeat was needed to expose the problems for all to see and provoke some drastic action.
Rob Andrew

ScrumV users:
No one would mind if we started four or five new players against Ireland and then lost a close, hard fought game - it would be a step in the right direction. Putting this tried and failed team out again would be frankly nonsensical.
Patharry