Ben Foden had insisted the critics were wrong to doubt him when the pressure was mounting and the high balls came raining in.

Against France he proved it with a full-back performance which gave England rugby genuine hope for the future.

For good measure, the Northampton star raced in for the only try of the match as England earned the plaudits despite France clinching the RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam with a 12-10 victory at a sodden Stade de France on Saturday night.

Foden should have been there from the start of the Six Nations and it was no coincidence that England's best performance of a tournament in which they finished third came when he and Northampton team-mate Chris Ashton joined Mark Cueto in a back three possessing genuine speed and desire.

It was 24-year-old Foden's fourth cap and his first start for England at full-back and his handling skills were severely tested by the French, who launched a high-ball blitz when the Paris heavens opened.

Foden said: "Personally I always thought it was one of my strengths under the high ball. Jim (Mallinder, Northampton coach) and people at the club have always said so. If people want to write me off and say I'm weak under the high ball I've just got to prove them wrong and it was a great stage to do that and luckily things went my way.

"It's another step up from Premiership rugby, the intensity, the hits, the speed of the game and 82,000 people watching, it's a hell of a stage to be on.

"I really enjoyed it. As soon as the whistle goes it's just another game of rugby. I just try to do the things I do well and hopefully take my chances when they arrive."

That happened as early as the fifth minute, a swift shift of the ball along the England three-quarters allowing Foden to make the overlap on the left wing to take a pass from Ashton for a touchdown which breathed confidence into Martin Johnson's embattled side.

"I was delighted to get on the scoreboard, especially with Ash passing me the ball," said Foden. "It's usually the other way round. I'm just disappointed with the result."

It could have been different if Foden, whose pace was a clear menace to an unusually nervy and subdued French side, had found Cueto with a pass in the second half with the line begging.

"I popped the ball into Cuets's face," explained Foden. "He was screaming for me to keep hold and I thought he said offload. I was pretty disappointed but I'll learn from this experience and next time it will be us standing on the podium and not the French."

At least the display sorted out the conundrum of what is Foden's best position. He prefers scrum-half, sometimes plays on the wing, but on Saturday looked to have the natural instincts of a full-back.

The only downside after such a successful audition on the big stage is that Foden must now wait until June and the tour of Australia to underline his selection.

But he even saw that as a positive as he prepares to add some fire to Northampton's frantic finish to the season.

"It gives me time to reflect on that performance," said Foden. "I've got some big games for Northampton coming up. I've got the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup and I've got to keep my form at the club and prove to the selectors that I'm still going to be in form when they select the squad for the next summer tour.

"They picked us for a reason. They wanted to mix up the back three and run the ball back a bit. That's one of our strengths. We decided if we could run the ball back over the halfway line we were happy with that.

"Our penalty count let us down a bit and we have things to work on and improve upon, but we are heading in the right direction."

For once, no-one was arguing with that.