They saved the most spectacular match of this season’s Six Nations for last. When the final whistle blew in an exceptionally lively display in Lyon, France remained in second place, with England below them in third, but in reality it felt like a trivial detail. The lasting memory will be the quality of entertainment provided by two sides who completely refused to bend the knee.
Put aside for a moment the fact that this year’s Six Nations trophy was claimed by Ireland. Because it is also true that the most sparkling memories of the last two rounds concerned an England team that has come a long way towards restoring the confidence of their supporters. Another stunning comeback, this time from 16-3 down after 39 minutes, could not quite deliver a fourth win from five games, but it was further evidence that England’s progress was real enough.
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Until the very final moments it looked like Tommy Freeman’s 75th minute try and George Ford’s touchline conversion had won the day, only for Thomas Ramos to punch it clear with a last-gasp 50-yard clearance after Ben Earl was pinged for a no-arms error. Intercept. Before that, after the second of two compelling tries from Ollie Lawrence and a ringing score from Marcus Smith, it had looked like Steve Borthwick’s side were on the brink of something extra special.
Instead, it was France who ended an uneven campaign on a high note, inspired by a Gaël Fickou try in the 59th minute and another standout display from scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec, who sealed a first-half team try for good. Ramos’ deadly boot netted 18 points and he never looked likely to miss the long-range winner.
Talk about a ‘Le Crunch’ with a real crackle and crackle. England will point to the disruption caused by the early loss of George Furbank to a calf problem, but France were almost unrecognizable from the side that struggled through the early rounds.
This was also the first time France had won four consecutive home Championship games against England since 1972, one of several interesting statistics floating around in the aftermath. It was also England’s seventh final-day defeat in the past eight campaigns, but at least they restored some much-needed pride after a record 53-10 win at Twickenham this time last year.
Earl, who played another stormily energetic game, made seventeen tackles in the second half alone, while Lawrence, Ford and Ollie Chessum made similarly powerful contributions. The rat-a-tat surge of 21 English points in eight minutes either side of half-time would have changed most games, but the lineout malfunction that led directly to Fickou’s all-important score could not be avoided.
On the other hand, it would be unfair to be too negative about the bowels of a glorious encounter on a still, mild evening. It was hypnotic viewing from start to finish, with France starting off like a speeding TGV. Fickou passed the ball backwards through his legs to create a surge down the left flank, and England also had to fend off a few thunderous attacks from the huge forwards. A little more French precision was all that was missing and when a visibly upset Furbank had to leave within eight minutes, the pressure on England increased even more. So it was a significant relief when Ford, making use of every second at his disposal, conceded a well-hit penalty after a collapsed scrum.
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A helter skelter game continued to ebb and flow, as Le Crunch tends to do. England last defeated Les Bleus on French soil in 2016 and remarkably there were seven Red Rose survivors from that match on the team sheet. However, it was the youthful French exuberance that brought to mind the first try of the match, an absolute stunner of a team score from 75 yards, started and finished by the gifted Le Garrec, with young full-back Leo Barré providing a casually brilliant left-handed final offload. .
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France couldn’t quite take advantage of all the chances they created, but England continued to hold their ground. Another break in the line, this time by Charles Olivon, could easily have resulted in a second attempt, but three points from Ramos still took his team to a ten-point lead. The big hope for the visitors was that their opponents might not be able to maintain the ferocious pace.
Another deadly 50-yard penalty from Ramos made it 16-3, but England revived the evening just before the break thanks to Lawrence bursting through Fickou’s tackle and scoring wide of the posts, giving Ford a got easy conversion. It meant that England were behind at half-time in every match in this championship, the first time since the early 1970s.
The first half statistics also showed that England had missed 25 tackles and France had only conceded three penalties. However, a rugby match lasts more than 80 minutes. Sure enough, it was England who struck with rattlesnake speed after the restart, not once but twice. First Lawrence stretched to score his second before another break, this time from Earl, gave Smith the chance to finish in style.
Suddenly it was 24-16 for England and the French legs seemed to have disappeared. Would they recover? Could they recover? The answer was a thrilling yes, assisted by a loose lineout throw, forwarded by Ramos, which helped set up Fickou. On another day, Freeman’s try and Ford’s superb conversion would have grabbed the headlines, but this time it was Ramos who delivered the final blow.