England narrowly missed out on their famous victory in Paris as Thomas Ramos’ last-minute penalty gave France a stunning 48-46 victory and retained the Six Nations title.
Ramos converted a long-range penalty with four minutes left in a thrilling 13-try game that looked like England had won when Tommy Freeman crossed.
If England had won, the title would have gone to Ireland, who defeated Scotland and overtook France at the top, but Les Bleus had the final say on the exciting final day as they looked to win their third title in five years.
Louis Vier Bialley scored two tries in each half, Ollie Chetham scored a double including a brilliant intercept try, and Ramos’ kick was needed to clinch the try-filled play.
Thomas Ramos celebrates with Antoine Dupont after winning the match with a last-gasp penalty
England recovered from Biel-Bialley’s two early attempts and dominated the first half. At one point they led by 10 points, but a late penalty try and Elie Genge’s sin bin cut the gap to 27-24, and France scored two more tries after the restart to build on their man advantage.
The lead continued to change as Marcus Smith came off the bench to score a try, marking his 50th cap for England. It was undoubtedly England’s best performance of the tournament and a far cry from the bland display against Italy, but it ultimately ended in a heart-breaking defeat.
Louis Vier Bialley scored four tries against England
Steve Borthwick’s side finished fifth in the Six Nations after dropping four games for the first time, but there is reason for optimism ahead of summer tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.
France, wearing light blue kits to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the game, got off to a dream start with Ramos raking down the wing and Biel-Bialley beating Kadan Marley to the rebound.
Ramos scored, but England responded immediately. Their half-backs directed a sustained attack which resulted in Elliot Daly forcing Tom Roebuck into a corner.
England quickly put an end to their good result when they switched on their defence, with a superb left-footed kick from Mathieu Jalibert leading to Vier Bialley’s goal. However, after Theo Atisogbe failed to collect Ben Spencer’s kick behind him, Marley popped out and hit back again.
Marley saved England’s opponents by stopping Jalibert’s chip-and-chase, but France extended their lead to 17-10 with Ramos’ penalty.
Alex Coles scores England’s fourth try
England regularly crashed over the gain line and began to dominate at set pieces, with Chetham scoring a try with a powerful driving maul and Finn Smith’s conversion making it 17-17.
Repeating this, England scored their fourth try in the 33rd minute and took the lead for the first time. A catch-and-drive gave them a penalty advantage, with Spencer looping a pass wide to Chetham, who fed inside to Alex Coles. Smith’s dropkick conversion gave them a 24-17 lead.
Shaken, France kicked another offside penalty, which Smith kicked to extend England’s lead to 10 points, but there was more drama in the final play of a suffocating first half.
A flurry of penalties gave France access to their opponents’ 22 points, and Genguet received a yellow card for dragging France’s maul. A penalty try reduced England’s half-time advantage to three.
Theo Atissogbe scores a touchdown while Ellis Genge is in the sin bin.
France committed more sins after the restart. Antoine Dupont helped Biel Bierley complete his hat-trick before a quick tap penalty from the scrum-half brought Atissogbe to the opposite corner and Ramos scored both to give France an 11-point advantage.
But just as it looked like France were heading for victory, flanker Chetham ran from deep in his own half to score a brilliant interception try.
England suddenly regained the lead when Marcus Smith scored a wonderful try and put it on to make it 39-38.
Biel Bialley scored his fourth try from a downfield kick from Dupont off a turnover, hurting England, but France hit back again after sinking prop Demba Bamba into the sin bin.
Marcus Smith took his time converting, but it wasn’t enough as Ramos held his nerve in search of the most dramatic win.
Borthwick questions ‘controversial’ Genge binning
England head coach Steve Borthwick told ITV:
“Yellow cards hurt us in this tournament, but I think they were very controversial yellow cards like Henry Arundel against Scotland.
“We were unlucky, but we have to be better.”
Borthwick added: “I would like to congratulate France as it was a great match against a formidable opponent. Two very good teams played against each other.”
“This performance came from training and building relationships within the team.
“We’ve been disappointed the last few weeks and wanted to perform for our fans. Even though we didn’t win, we hope we made them proud.”
Itoje: This England team is on the rise
England captain Maro Itoje told ITV.
“We had some tough games and it was disappointing to lose this game, but it showed the spirit of this team.
“Often in sport you don’t want to go through what we’ve had in the last few games, but I truly believe we can do well.
“We will learn from our experience and be better for them.”
Edwards: French passion gives them an edge
France defensive coach Shaun Edwards told ITV:
“We had to dig in. We have very talented players and great athletes, but they also love the game. That gives them an edge.
“Today we felt the goal kick was going to make the difference.
“It was a great game for the crowd, rugby is just amazing these days, especially the Six Nations.
“England have a better defensive system and conceded more goals than us. It can be frustrating (scoring) but that’s the way rugby goes.”
