Ben Foden – given the nod ahead of Delon Armitage at full back – linked up with fellow Northampton Saints star and debutant Chris Ashton to score the only try of the game.

And while the French ultimately were the ones celebrating at the final whistle Johnson insisted the night had been a seminal moment for some of his troops.

“I thought the effort was fantastic,” said Johnson. “We made mistakes but the support was good and some guys have really come of age today.

“We need to back our hands a little bit more which we have not done so this year but Ben Foden played fantastically well and Chris Ashton did well too.”