England rules match with France

England's captain Martin Johnson, center, is tackled by France's Brian Leibenberg as David Auradou, left, chases during their rugby union international friendly match at Twickenham, London, Saturday. PHOTO: REUTERS

Ben Cohen scored two tries as England crushed France 45-14 at Twickenham Saturday in its final match before the World Cup.

The five-try performance in front of a capacity 72,000 crowd gave England its 22nd consecutive win at Twickenham.

England Clive Woodward named 11 of the players that beat world champion Australia 25-14 in Melbourne in June. For many, including captain Martin Johnson and star flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson, it was their first rugby game since.

Last Saturday, France beat a second-string England side 17-16 in Marseilles, ending England's winning run of 14 consecutive test match victories. France scored its only first half points after three minutes, when flyhalf Gerald Merceron converted a penalty. England dominated after that.

England Jonny Wilkinson scored four penalties in the first 25 minutes to give the home side a 12-3 lead. He then helped set up England's first try, kicking the ball upfield where it hit an upright and rebounded to Ben Cohen, who scored his 22nd international try.

Lineups * England: Jason Robinson, Iain Balshaw, Stuart Abbott, Will Greenwood, Ben Cohen, Jonny Wilkinson, Kyran Bracken, Trevor Woodman, Steve Thompson, Julian White, Martin Johnson, Ben Kay, Richard Hill, Neil Back * France: Clement Poitrenaud, Xavier Garbajosa, Yannick Jauzion, Brian Liebenberg, Christophe Dominici, Gerald Merceron, Dimitri Yachvili, Olivier Milloud, Raphael Ibanez, Jean-Baptiste Poux, David Auradou, Olivier Brouzet, Sebastien Chabal, Patrick Tabacco

Wilkinson to notch up 700 test match points and give England a 19-3 lead. Cohen scored England's second try a short time later, sprinting up field unchallenged. Fullback Jason Robinson added England's third with a 50 meter dash.

Wilkinson converted both to give England a 33-3 halftime lead.

Iain Balshaw scored England's fourth try soon after the second half started, picking up a Wilkinson kick to weave his way over. Wilkinson missed his first conversion, and with a 38-3 lead, was substituted for Paul Grayson.

Captain Martin Johnson was also taken off, replaced by Simon Shaw. France finally scored again in the 55th minute through a Merceron field goal and Yannick Jauzion added another soon after.