"Apprehension," wrote Michael Manley, "forms like a stalagmite in a cave, imperceptible to the eye within short periods." In the days before this match, Stuart Lancaster expressed similar sentiment, though he was a little more prosaic in the way he put it. "Fear," he said, "can sometimes build up during a player's career in international rugby." This, he went on, explained why he felt there was "an upside" to the fact that he was sending such a callow team out into the Stade de France. The three greenhorns, Jonny May, Jack Nowell and Luther Burrell, would, Lancaster said, play with "no fear".

There is no doubt that Lancaster would have preferred to be able to field a more experienced team. He has always been clear that he is trying to build a team for the 2015 World Cup, and says that he hopes and believes England's fans will forgive the side's inconsistency in the meantime. But here, two years into his time in charge, his back line had fewer caps between them than the very first side he ever picked, against Scotland in 2012.

The idea that young players have no fear is the kind of line you hear a lot in sport. And like a lot of cliches, there is a little truth in it.

Young players may feel more nerves than old pros – Burrell says he throws up before every match – but they tend also be a little bolder in the way they play, more willing to gamble, simply because they have not learned the costs and consequences of their mistakes. Their daring isn't a consequence of bravery, but of inexperience.

It took just 32 seconds for the lesson to begin. The opening kick-off cleared England's forwards and landed slap in Nowell's lap. He spilled the ball forwards, allowing Jules Plisson to kick crossfield to the right wing, where Yoann Huget slid straight past May, around Mike Brown, and scored. Within a minute, France were 5-0 up, the brass brands were reverberating around the stands. The explosion of noise which erupted at that moment must have been many times louder than anything Nowell and Burrell had ever heard before. Nowell, 20, has played only 16 Premiership matches, Burrell, 26, has been around a lot longer, but has been so inconsistent that he has only played 57 himself.

It got worse. Nowell, to his credit, did not shy away from getting involved. Moments later he was carrying the ball into midfield. He was brutally thumped back by two tacklers, but he off-loaded to Danny Care as he fell. May had switched wings, and he ended up with the ball. Buried under a pile of bodies, he came up oozing blood, his nose broken. The doctor tried to reset it on the side of the pitch, but realised, as May reeled away in pain, that the player needed to go off. Alex Goode came on, Brown switched across. An England side who were already a little unsettled were stretched still further out of shape.

If May disappeared, Nowell, on the other wing, was in the thick of it. France were targeting him. His tackling was up to it, but his catching was not. Nowell hauled down Maxime Médard, wrapping his hand around the Frenchman's thigh and dragging him into touch, and took down Louis Picamoles, too, when he came thundering down his channel. But he also spilled a couple of catches. When he did take one, off an up-and-under from Care, he wriggled through a couple of tackles and made good ground.

At the end, the stats showed that Nowell had carried the ball for almost twice as many metres as any of his teammates, and made all his nine tackles. At Exeter and in the England age-group sides, Nowell has played at centre and full-back, and he roamed into both positions, always looking for an opening. So his versatility showed. But so did his inexperience as he gave away two penalties. He could not be blamed for the wicked bounce the ball took after Brice Dulin's kick, but the way he collided with Goode, who was coming across to try to take it himself, only made Huget's second try easier, and added to the sense that England were overwhelmed.

Over in midfield, Burrell was struggling to assert himself against the formidable French centre pairing of Mathieu Bastareaud and Wesley Fofana.

But he was there, in the right place at the right time, when Billy Vunipola burst into midfield. Burrell took the pass, and allowed himself a little look around to see whether or not anyone was within tackling distance of him. You could almost see the smile spread across his face when he realised he was clean through. He started to throw his arm up in joy, but then thought better of it.

A good thing too, as it turned out. Because by the end, Nowell had gone off with cramp and Burrell was out on the wing. He was already out of position at outside-centre, as he plays inside for Northampton. On the wing, he looked desperately vulnerable as Gaël Fickou ran towards him in the final few minutes. If Burrell had made that tackle, he might have saved the game for England. But he didn't. Like Nowell, he will be a little wiser after this, but perhaps a little more fearful too.