England vs France rugby LIVE: Result and reaction as England win Women’s Six Nations grand slam decider
England 38-33 France: A world-record crowd of more than 58,000 were at Twickenham to see England seal another Women’s Six Nations grand slam
England beat a spirited France 38-33 to win their fifth straight Women’s Six Nations title with a grand slam in front of a world-record crowd at Twickenham to give coach Simon Middleton a fitting farewell.
With 58,498 fans in attendance, England struggled with nerves at first before pulling away from fellow unbeaten side France to go into the break with a commanding 33-0 lead.
Abby Dow scored England’s first try and although Helena Rowland missed the conversion, she made no mistake when captain Marlie Packer and Alex Matthews powered over. France were also temporarily down to 14 players when Jessy Tremouliere was sent to the sin bin, which also welcomed Rose Bernadou later in the half, helping England to score from a penalty try before Zoe Aldcroft also went over.
But England took their foot off the gas in the second half and France got on the board when Emilie Boulard scored the opening try before Gabrielle Vernier went through the English defence for a second. Both teams then scored from rolling mauls to make it 38-21 to England with 65 minutes on the clock. With five minutes left, France rallied with two more tries from Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet, but Tremouliere missed the first conversion as England held on for another grand slam.
Relive England’s historic win over France in the Women’s Six Nations, below
England 38-33 France (Tremouliere, conv)
Jessy Tremouliere has the last word on the day and pumps over the conversion.
TRY! England 38-31 (Banet, 80’)
80 mins: Right on the buzzer, a France scrum collapses and the referee plays on. They swing the ball out to the right and Cyrielle Banet goes over.
England 38-26 France
78 mins: Tremouliere misses the conversion. Time is against the visitors who continue to force England into a retreat. The Red Roses are really benefitting from their first half dominance.
TRY! England 38-26 France (Gros, 76’)
76 mins: Another one! Where was this France in the first half? Some powerful driving hits from the likes of Menager push England behind their out try line.
Emeline Gros scoops up the ball and thunders over to get Les Bleus within 12.
England 38-21 France
72 mins: The attendance is announced over the stadium speakers. 58,498 fans have turned up to watch this huge game and they’ve been treated to a proper spectacle.
A breakaway for France sees them come through the middle of England before working the ball out to the right wing. Jess Breach is aware of the developing danger and scoops Chambon into touch.
England 38-21 France
69 mins: A driving maul for England wins them a penalty as France fail to move away following the tackle.
The Red Roses elect for a repeat lineout and maul. This one is utilised better from England who get Marlie Packer the ball. She drives over the line but gets held up!
England 38-21 France (Tremouliere, conv)
67 mins: The conversion is safely sent over by Jessy Tremouliere and France are edging ever closer to England’s tally. Will there be enough time to catch up though?
TRY! England 38-19 France (Escudero, 66’)
66 mins: France score again!
A line-out develops into a driving maul over on the right wing which turns England around. It’s not clear who has possession of the ball before Charlotte Escudero drops out of the pack and grounds the ball over the try line.
England 38-14 France
61 mins: Helena Rowland misses the conversion. That try has come at a good time for England. They were starting to slack off a touch and let France back into the match.
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