Captain Chris Robshaw shrugged off England’s latest Six Nations heartbreak to claim that victory over France was a huge step towards making Twickenham a real fortress come the Rugby World Cup.

The Harlequins flanker had mixed emotions after a monumental effort from his team to get the 26-point win over France which would have gifted them the title at Twickenham.

But an incredible match which saw England run in seven of the twelve tries on show and a 55-35 win over their rivals, ended with Ireland being crowned Northern Hemisphere champions.

It was a fourth successive missed opportunity for England who have finished runners-up now in each tournament since Stuart Lancaster took charge from Martin Johnson following the 2011 World Cup.

But Robshaw focused on the positives of making it a third home win in the tournament and beating a team who will be a major rival come England 2015 in September.

He insisted: “To score 50-odd points against France was a cracking effort but once again we have been pipped at the post. Of course it is tough to take and all the guys are devastated in the dressing room.

“It is never easy to take and because this one happened at home it is probably the toughest of the lot.

“We thought we had the ascendancy and could get the points needed. But we just fell short after a massive effort from the guys. I’m proud of them.

“We have won another Twickenham game and we are building up a head of steam at the stadium going into the World Cup, which is a positive. We are playing well at home.

“This side has proved it can score plenty of tries when we get the chance on the big occasion and the World Cup is not far away now.