Last Updated: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:27
England coach Tony Smith says he was always confident that his side would overcome France in their Four Nations opener on Friday.
The visitors led 12-4 at half-time thanks to tries from Vincent Duport and Kane Bentley while Lee Smith crossed the whitewash for the hosts at Doncaster.
But it was a very different story in the second period as England ran in five tries through Richie Myler (2), Kevin Sinfield, Ryan Hall and Tom Briscoe with France failing to add to their points tally.
French star David Ferriol was placed on report for a bad challenge on Sinfield and Jean Philippe Baile was sent off for a swinging arm on Myler late in the game.
Smith is fully aware that his charges will have to improve against New Zealand and Australia later in the tournament but he put Friday night's first-half performance down to nerves.
"We were just a bit excited, even before the game," he said. "We were a bit anxious and put a bit of pressure on one another.
"We just had to settle down and build some pressure on the French. We knew if we did that they would struggle."
"This is a new team, and it takes a little bit of time to get the combinations, and that showed tonight," he conceded. "We go up about three rungs in class next week."