France are celebrating retaining their Six Nations title by the thinnest of margins. Les Bleus narrowly outlasted old rivals England 48-46 in a hugely dramatic finale to a sensational 2026 competition, with Thomas Ramos stepping up to coolly slot over a last-gasp penalty with the clock in the red. That was the decisive moment after Tommy Freeman’s score in a 13-try thriller had looked to hand the championship to Ireland with just a couple of minutes to go in Paris. Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored four tries for France in a wild encounter to close a memorable Super Saturday, with momentum constantly swinging back and forth as both teams started fast and resurgent England held a 27-24 half-time lead before their discipline problems arose once again. England suffered their worst-ever Six Nations campaign as they lost four games for the first time to follow a 12-Test winning streak, though the massively improved attacking performance is likely to give under-fire head coach Steve Borthwick some much-needed respite heading into the start of the inaugural Nations Championship in the summer.
Published: March 14, 2026 5:58 pm
Source: London Evening Standard — Read original