RUGBY – THOMAS Ramos kicked a last-gasp penalty to secure France’s third Six Nations title in five years with a nerve-shredding 48-46 victory over England in a dramatic game at the Stade de France yesterday.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey shone in a four-try display as Les Bleus finished on 21 points, two ahead of Ireland who beat third-placed Scotland 43-21 as England finished fifth, winning only one game in the Six Nations for the first time.
England played superbly against France, however, scoring tries through Tom Roebuck, Cadan Murley, Ollie Chessum (2), Alex Coles, Tommy Freeman and Marcus Smith.
Yesterday’s Test, which marked the 120th anniversary of ‘Le Crunch’, capped a remarkable championship, during which Italy beat England for the first time and Scotland came into the final day with a chance of winning their first Six Nations.
England rose to the occasion, but came up short despite scoring seven tries and more than 40 points on French soil for the first time.
France have now won eight Six Nations titles, one more than England, and two more than Ireland and Wales.
Earlier, Wales overwhelmed Italy 31-17 to end a run of 15 successive Six Nations defeats in their last game of this year’s tournament, outscoring the visitors four tries to three.
&uuid=(email))