In a heart-stopping Six Nations climax that will be remembered for years, France snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against a valiant England side, winning 33-31 in Lyon. A last-minute try from centre Gael Fickou shattered English dreams after they had staged a monumental second-half comeback.
The match was a tale of two halves, with France dominating the early exchanges. The boot of Thomas Ramos was flawless, slotting penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking over. England, however, refused to capitulate. Tries from Ollie Lawrence, Marcus Smith, and Tommy Freeman, coupled with the reliable boot of George Ford, hauled them back into contention and then into a shock lead.
Just as it seemed Steve Borthwick's men had done enough to secure a famous away win, France mounted one final, desperate assault. With the clock in the red, the ball was worked to Fickou, who crashed over the line to send the home crowd into raptures. Ramos, ice-cool as ever, added the conversion to complete the scoring.
The result is a crushing blow for England, who showed immense character to fight back from a significant deficit. Questions will be asked about their game management in the final moments. For France, it was a triumphant escape act, proving their resilience and keeping their championship ambitions alive in the most dramatic fashion possible.
