France win the most dramatic Six Nations imaginable to deny Ireland and England

Thomas Ramos was the calmest man in Paris as he kicked a long-range penalty in added time to snatch back-to-back Six Nations titles for France for the first time in two decades.

Fabien Galthie’s men came from behind multiple times against England to triumph 48-46, despite ending the game with 14 men, a result that denied Ireland what would have been their third title in four years.

The teams shared a staggering 13 tries at the Stade de France but the grinning Ramos, who hit seven from seven on an otherwise-chaotic night, slotted a nerveless 83rd-minute penalty that finally pulled France back ahead.

Ireland meanwhile could only sit and watch as their hopes ebbed and flowed like a tsunami tide. Just five weeks ago, they were the beaten visitors in Paris. Now they were hundreds of miles away but beaten once again.

A tournament of tiny margins

Had that February clash gone differently and not been a 36-14 defeat, Ireland would already have been celebrating a grand slam and probably would not even have watched France vs England, but instead they were screaming at the TV as the red rose took a shock three-point lead into half-time.

But a yellow card for Ellis Genge just before the sides went in for the break proved the turning point, if such a ding-dong affair could have one: it allowed Louis Bielle-Biarrey to complete his hat-trick two minutes after the break, although even after Genge returned, he scored a fourth 15 minutes from time.

The final quarter was a nerve-wracking one for those in Paris, London and Dublin, with so much at stake for all three teams with skin in the game. Tommy Freeman’s try two minutes from the end looked to have given Ireland the title, only for Ramos to kick a nerveless three-pointer from 40 metres and start the Saturday night party.

Former Wales fly-half Dan Bigger said he thought there would be “fear” in the English hearts before kick-off, knowing a poor performance could result in a heavy defeat.

But if there were, it didn’t show. England were prepared to ship the ball wide early on, carrying with aggression and defending with speed. Combined with a cacophonous State de France, it made for a frenetic opening half hour.

Both teams put boot to ball with almost 100 per cent success, Elliot Daly finding space in behind to set up Tom Roebuck, Matthieu Jalibert returning the favour twice for Bielle-Biarrey. Cadan Murley went over, and so did Ollie Chessum off the back of a brilliant rolling maul. Second row Alex Coles was the beneficiary of fast ruck ball and a fine Ben Spencer pass. It was tit for tat, punch for punch, but Fin Smith was missing conversions where Ramos was not.

‘Yellow cards have hurt us – but that was debatable’

It meant that when referee Nika Amashukeli awarded France a penalty try from a maul of their own and sent Genge to the sin-bin, England were only three points ahead at half-time and would restart with 14 men on the pitch.

England’s ninth yellow card of the tournament cost them 21 points in total, although England coach Steve Borthwick afterwards disputed whether his prop had deserved the punishment.

“The yellow cards in this tournament have hurt us,” Borthwick said.

“That is a very debatable yellow card – as was Henry Arundell’s right at the start which World Rugby accepted shouldn’t have been a yellow card.

“A little bit of luck has gone against us on those couple of decisions but we’ve got to be a lot better than that.”

‘Proud of the way the team played’

Borthwick added: “We’re really disappointed with the last few weeks.

“We wanted to get a great result for our supporters tonight. We’re disappointed we didn’t get the result.

“I hope they [the fans] can be proud of the way their team played.”

Certainly England showed ambition that has been sorely lacking during a tournament in which, for the first time, they have: lost four games; lost to Italy; and finished below Italy in the table. Fifth place is uncharted territory for one of the richest nations in the world, and Borthwick will face questions about his job that may be a little easier to answer after running the champions so close.

“I’m very clear on the direction of the team,” he said with a wry smile when asked about his own job afterwards.

Only time will tell if that remains his responsibility.