Cliff Notes
- France triumphed at the Six Nations, defeating Scotland 35-16 in Paris, securing their first title since 2022.
- England’s record 68-14 victory over Wales kept their title hopes alive until the final game, despite ultimately finishing third.
- Scotland, despite a disallowed try, struggled against France’s forward replacements, while Wales faced a record 17th consecutive defeat, sealing the wooden spoon.
France win Six Nations with victory over Scotland in Paris | UK News
France have won the Six Nations after beating Scotland 35-16 in Paris. England pushed the championship battle to the final game after earlier destroying Wales with a record 68-14 win in Cardiff.
But Les Bleus sealed victory in front of a home crowd in a packed Stade de France to lift their first title since 2022 and only their second since 2010. Scotland briefly threatened to spoil the party and were unlucky to go into halftime 16-13 behind after a Tom Jordan try was disallowed.
The match remained tight until France threw on their forward replacements and Scotland’s defence tired under the onslaught. Yoram Moefana grabbed the bonus-point securing fourth try and the celebrations in Paris began.France had bounced back emphatically from their defeat away to England on matchday two to crush Ireland and Italy and put themselves in pole position entering the final day.
The hosts only needed a win against Scotland, with both England and Ireland also in with a chance, but only if other results went their way.
Last year’s champions Ireland kept their hopes of retaining the title alive with an unconvincing 22-17 bonus-point win over Italy in the early game in Rome.A week on from having their Grand Slam dream crushed by a 42-27 drubbing in Dublin at the hands of France, Ireland moved top of the table ahead of the other matches.
But they needed both of their championship rivals to slip up, and England’s 10-try demolition of Wales pushed Ireland back into second place, while France’s win meant they finished the competition in third. The Prince of Wales, who is the patron of the Welsh Rugby Union and his wife the Princess of Wales, the patron of the Rugby Football Union, cheered on opposing sides from the stands.
England’s emphatic bonus-point victory still left them relying on Scotland to beat the favourites to finish in the top spot. Winless Wales were condemned to a second successive wooden spoon and 17th Test defeat on the bounce – a record for a tier one nation in the professional era.