Maggie Alphonsi in action

 Tries from skipper Katy Mclean, Maggie Alphonsi, Claire Allan, Ruth Laybourn and two from Kay Wilson set Gary Street’s side on the way to victory while Mclean added eight points with the boot and Amber Reed contributed two.

The six-try victory will have gone a long way to eradicate memories of France’s 30-20 win against England at Twickenham during the 2013 Six Nations campaign.

England started brightly and almost took a second minute lead, but wing Laybourn’s foot was adjudged to be in touch before she dotted down. The breakthrough eventually came with 15 on the clock when full back Wilson was on the end of a good passing move to touch down for her fifth international try.

Mclean’s excellent conversion from out wide made it 7-0 but France hit back with 18 played through the boot of Sandrine Agricole, kicking a penalty to make it 7-3.

Captain Mclean added to her points tally after 22 minutes, spotting a gap in the French defence and racing through to touch down, and the Darlington Mowden Park Sharks No. 10 secured the conversion to make it 14-3 and put England in control.

Maggie Alphonsi – making her first appearance in white for 20 months – scored England’s third in typical ‘machine’ like fashion, crashing through several would-be tacklers before diving over. Mclean added the two points to make it 21-3 after 27 mins.

Gary Street’s side kept their foot on the pedal though and soon had their fourth try with 35 played – wing Claire Allan was on hand to finish off a well worked move. Agricole then brought the half to a close with her second penalty to make it 26-6.

England started the second half as they did the first, and with 44 played Kay Wilson scored her second try, picking up a quick pass from Alphonsi before touching down near the posts. Mclean’s slotted the conversion to make it 33-6 but France hit back just minutes later when centre Marion Lievre intercepted a loose pass and touched down. Agricole added the conversion to make it 33-13 with 47 on the clock.

Laybourn scored England’s sixth after 75 minutes, showing real pace to out-run the French defence and Reed added the conversion to make it 40-13, but that wasn’t the end of the scoring as France had the final word when Lievre went over for her second try, which was converted by Agricole.

Head Coach Gary Street said: "We're really pleased to get the victory, if you had offered me a 40-20 win before the game I would have taken it. We were particularly pleased with our first half performance, we perhaps eased off a litte in the second half a little but we'll address that in training this week. We put some pressure on ourselves to play well and we delivered in the most part. Canada on Wednesday is the next job and we'll be looking for another good performance there."

Player of the match Rachael Burford said: “Twickenham is a special place for us, it’s our home ground and it’s great to give something back to our fans. To score 40 points against France is a real credit to our girls. The fact that they beat us in the Six Nations was mentioned, but the focus is on the future. We’re building towards the World Cup, but our main focus is on Canada on Wednesday.”

England team 

15 Kay Wilson (Bristol)
14 Claire Allan (Richmond)
13 Amber Reed (Bristol)
12 Rachael Burford (Thurrock)
11 Ruth Laybourn (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
10 Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks) (C)
9 La Toya Mason (Wasps)
1 Rochelle Clark (Worcester) (VC)
2 Emma Croker (Richmond)
3 Sophie Hemming (Bristol)
4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
5 Emily Braund (Lichfield)
6 Marlie Packer (Wasps)
7 Margaret Alphonsi (Saracens)
8 Rebecca Essex (Richmond)

Replacements:
16 Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield) on for Emma Croker 65 mins
17 Claire Purdy (Wasps) on for Rochelle Clark 74 mins
18 Sasha Acheson (Bristol) on for Sophie Hemming 69 mins
19 Hannah Gallagher (Saracens) on for Marlie Packer 60 mins
20 Harrier Millar-Mills (Lichfield) on for Tamara Taylor 65 mins
21 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield) on for La Toya Mason 60 mins
22 Ceri Large(Worcester) on for Katy Mclean 67 mins
23 Michaela Staniford (Wasps) on for Kay Wilson 59 mins

Tries: Kay Wilson 2, Katie Mclean, Maggie Alphonsi, Claire Allan, Ruth Laybourn

Conversions: Katy Mclean 4, Amber Reed

France team

15 Jessy Tremouliere
14 Laurelin Fourcade
13 Marion Lievre
12 Lucille Godiveau
11 Elodie Guiglion
10 Sandrine Agricole
9 Alice Marie Yahe (C)
1 Helene Ezanno
2 Gaelle Mignot
3 Christelle Chobet
4 Sandra Rabier
5 Assa Koita
6 Coumba Tombe Diallo
7 Manon Andre
8 Safi N’diaye

Replacements:
16 Laetitia Salles
17 Lise Arricastre on for Helene Ezanno 53 mins
18 Lenaïg Corson  on for Christelle Chobet 53 mins
19 Elodie Portaries
20 Sophie Pin on for Manon Andre 60 mins
21 Audrey Parra on for Lucille Godiveau 58 mins
22 Yanna Rivoalen
23 Sandra Metier

Tries: Marion Lievre 2

Conversions: Sandrine Agricole

Penalties: Sandrine Agricole 2

England Autumn International Series:

• Nov 9 - England v France, Twickenham Stadium
• Nov 13 - England v Canada, The Twickenham Stoop, KO 7pm., live on www.rfu.com/englandwomenlive and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

Tickets are available via www.ticketmaster.co.uk (0844 847 2492) and www.quins.co.uk (0208 410 6000). Tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for Under 16s.