Eddie Jones said England were back on course to becoming the best team in the world after coming from behind to beat France with a late Maro Itoje try at Twickenham. England were heading for their third defeat of a tournament they won last year when Itoje picked up from a ruck four minutes from time and scored a try that was awarded after a long TMO review. “It is a good step forward,” said Jones, the England head coach. “We are still nowhere near our best and that is exciting. We have another week to put our best foot forward against Ireland and while we are disappointed we cannot defend our trophy, we want to finish the campaign with a good feeling about where we are going as a team. “It is part of our progression to be the best and we showed signs against France. There are always doubts when you are going through a tough run, but the players showed control and focus. The communication was excellent and the finishers did a great job.” England conceded a try after 65 seconds and were behind from the 32nd minute until Itoje’s try, but Jones said their plan was to remain in sight of France until the closing period when they felt they could make their fitness count. “We knew they would come out hard,” said Jones. “We thought we would get them in the second half and we did. I thought Owen Farrell and Maro showed outstanding leadership and we showed we are getting a balance in our game between kicking, running and passing.” The England No 8 Billy Vunipola said he hoped the victory would spark a long winning streak, as the success in the third Test in South Africa did in 2018 after they had lost their previous five matches. “It is no use playing well against France and then not backing it up,” he said. “Our next game is the biggest one and while we are disappointed not to be competing for the title, there is more to come from us. We showed a lot of character and resilience against France and backed each other when things were not going our way.” Fabien Galthié said he found the end of the match difficult to accept as his side slipped to another defeat at Twickenham, a ground where they have not won in the Six Nations since 2005. The France head coach said: “We played a great match. It all changed in the last minute once again here. We thought we could win and there were moments when we could have made it easier for ourselves. The team goes on learning and part of that is going through an experience like this.”