England started the defence of their Women's Six Nations title with a hard-fought win over France in a gripping encounter in Pau.

Abby Dow and Vicky Fleetwood scored tries as the Red Roses dominated early on, but Laure Sansus crossed to start a France fightback before the break.

The second half was evenly contested until Emily Scarratt raced clear for a fine solo try that she also converted.

Jessy Tremouliere's penalty reduced the gap but England held on.

Although victory was England's fifth in a row over France, it was their first in France in the Six Nations since 2012.

France respond to strong England opening

England's strong opening suggested they might be in for a comfortable time, along the lines of their 41-26 win in Doncaster in the 2019 edition of the Six Nations.

Dow had time and space to dot the ball down near the corner in the ninth minute, and Fleetwood bundled over from close range following a powerful lineout drive before the first half's mid-point.

But England did not capitalise on their excellent start and France scored from their first serious attack.

A break from captain Gaelle Hermet allowed scrum-half Sansus to touch down near the posts for a converted try, and a penalty from Tremouliere reduced England's lead to two points by half-time.

Substitutes make a difference

Sarah Bern, who replaced Shaunagh Brown at tighthead at the interval, rampaged over early in the second half, but crossing in midfield by Sarah Beckett saw the try chalked off.

France began to look the stronger side in the scrum as the half wore on in temperatures of about 22C.

However, the match turned on a moment of brilliance from another England substitute. Amber Reed's deft offload on the 10-metre line put centre Scarratt, the World Rugby Women's Player of the Year, in the clear to race away from the France defence.

Tremouliere's boot took Les Bleues to within a converted try of victory, but England expertly ran down the clock.

They remain favourites for the title, although last year's runners-up Italy are one of their two remaining away games.

'You can barely hear each other' - reaction

England captain Sarah Hunter: "We relish playing in front of a partisan crowd. You can barely hear each other, let alone think.

"Fair play to France - they kept coming and coming. It took us a long time to get a win in France. We know every time we come it will be difficult and they certainly didn't let us down today.

"We're not a complacent team at all. The coaches and the girls don't let us do that.

"It's about recovery. We've got a short turnaround before we play Scotland next week.

"We've got off to a good start but we have to keep going, that's for sure."

France centre Gabrielle Vernier: "Our performance was a bit disappointing. We weren't at the right level in the first half.

"We had difficulties in defence. It killed our game. We did better in the second half but it was too late to come back and win the game.

"We have to be more careful with our defence for the next game. We were great in the scrum. We failed at the basics of rugby. We are of course very disappointed.

"Sometimes we weren't happy with the referee's decisions. We have to accept that and work harder in the next game."

LINE-UPS

France: Tremouliere, Boujard, Boudaud, Vernier, Banet, Bourdon, Sansus; Arricastre, Sochat, Deshaye, Forlani, Fall, Ferer, Hermet (c), R Menager.

Replacements: Thomas, Traore, Joyeux, N'Diaye, Annery, Peyronnet, Konde, M Menager

England: McKenna, Dow, Scarratt, Harrison, Breach, Daley-McLean, Hunt; Botterman, Cockayne, Brown, Cleall, Aldecroft, Beckett, Fleetwood, Hunter (c).

Replacements: Davies, Cornborough, Bern, Millar-Mills, Harper, Riley, Reed, Scott.