France keep Six Nations title after breathless clash

Les Bleus deny England in a seesaw thriller in Paris

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

What a bewildering, bonkers end to this most ludicrous of Six Nations campaigns. Just when we thought we had seen the last twist or turn, just when we felt we had seen that which would not be topped, just when a sense of calm seemed to have returned to the competition, France and England created a contest that can only be characterised as an assault on one’s senses and sensibilities. If it ended with the expected outcome - France securing back-to-back titles - almost nothing about an 80 minutes of 94 points seemed formed of any sort of logic. It was a fitting finale.

Where had this England been? If it felt fanciful that France had scored 40 points a week ago and lost, it felt even more improbable that they had to score eight more here to hold on to their Six Nations crown. Eventually, thanks to Thomas Ramos’s nerveless penalty with the clock in the red, a team that had arrived in Paris in a state of crisis were finally put to bed; England valiant, but not victorious, somehow, beaten with the last kick.

From start to finish, this was almost an out-of-body experience, and a few of the visiting players may say the same. The atmosphere, the occasion, the ending, the sheer daring and drama; it was epic in every sense. It may not have been the grand slam glory for which France once seemed destined but you cannot dispute that they are deserving champions of this competition. On a night for fast cars, they had the fastest: Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s four tries crucial in ensuring the trophy was theirs to lift.