Late penalty sees France defeat England to secure second place in Six Nations

France defeated England 33-31 with a late penalty to finish second in the 2024 Six Nations tournament, which ended in thrilling fashion.

England scored four tries, one more than the French, and were on the verge of victory when George Ford converted Tommy Freeman's try five minutes from time, giving them a one-point lead.

However, as France looked for a way back, Ben Earl was penalised for a no-arms tackle, and Tomas Ramos nailed a kick from halfway to ensure Les Bleus won in Lyon.

They had earlier wowed the home crowd with some thrilling rugby, particularly a brilliant team move for the first try, which was finished off by impressive deputy scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec.

England twice fought back to take the lead with incisive rugby, but it was ultimately in vain. They have the small consolation of finishing third in the table, as a losing bonus point lifts them above Scotland.

No team has shown more signs of a post-World Cup hangover this Six Nations season than France, which was on the verge of losing a single home game for the first time in tournament history. However, based on this evidence, the majority of those negative effects have been overcome, and France appears to be back to their freewheeling best.

Nothing summed it up better than the brilliant first try, a sweeping team move rife with danger, high skill levels, and opportunism. Gael Fickou's effort, which started with a Ramos fly hack, was not far behind.

Of course, there were some issues with France's performance. England repeatedly carved open France's defence. However, it made for excellent viewing and kept a game in which only second place was at stake interesting until the end.

SportsLigue