France clinch Six Nations after dramatic England win as Ireland left devastated

France have won the Six Nations after a dramatic late victory over England at the Stade de France

France have won the 2026 Six Nations after a dramatic 48-46 win at the Stade de France on Saturday night, snatching the championship from Ireland's grasp. Andy Farrell's men had ended Scotland's hopes of winning the tournament with a 43-21 win at the Aviva Stadium earlier on Saturday, clinching the Triple Crown in the process.

All they needed was England to beat France and Steve Borthwick's men almost obliged, with a stunning victory in Paris almost secured but for a late Thomas Ramos penalty that won the title for the French.

Despite the narrow loss, Borthwick urged England fans to take pride with their performance on the night. He said: "Firstly congratulations to France, they are a tremendous team and it was an excellent game.

"Last year we won it very late in the game and it's the nature of this fixture. It has taken time to get the relationships in the team, we have been disappointing in the last few weeks and we wanted a result tonight but we hope the fans can be proud of how the team played.

"The yellow cards have hurt us but I think tonight's was very debatable. Luck has gone against us but we have to be better than that.

"I am very clear on the direction of the team, we wanted to achieve more in the tournament, clearly, but we will make sure we do that going forwards."

Former England World Cup-winner Jonny Wilkinson, meanwhile, added: "England looked dangerous every time they had ball in hand. France struggled to contain them and match them physically.

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"There was real dominance. The lineout, the scrum, all came together. You could start to see a picture. There was forward dominance. Guys in the backline looked different, got to show stuff that had been hidden in the closet. They will be feeling good despite losing."

Citing how France are inspiring rugby, he added: "The challenge for France is to look at the last two games and ensure there is not a slight stutter in the road. They are the team to beat.

"England were probably propelled by that coming here so France are going to suffer that. People treat you like a cup final every game when you are that good, that dangerous. They are inspiring the world of rugby, certainly in the northern hemisphere. People want to be like guys like Bielle-Biarrey."

Elsewhere, an elated Shaun Edwards - who is the defensive coach for France - could not contain his elation as the nation reigned supreme at the Six Nations.

He told ITV Sport: "Another crazy game, a great one for the fans, rugby at the moment is phenomenal. If it was just your team conceding lots of points you would be worried, it's frustrating but that's the way the game is going.

"Look at the scores all around the world, it's a regular occurrence nowadays. It's a group we are building, they can improve in the future. That's my seventh Six Nations, by the way."

He added: "It's a group that is building and one we believe can improve in the future. Oscar Jegou has been phenomenal and can get better."

England Captain Maro Itoje, meanwhile, promised that England will bounce back "better" after a Six Nations campaign where the Red Roses managed just one win from five matches. He said: "We had a tough couple of games and tonight we are disappointed to lose but we showed the spirit of this team.

"In sport you often don't want to go through what we have in the last four games but I truly believe we are going places and will be better for it.

"We knew we had to attack the game more, our conversion of territory into points had to get better and it paid dividends. We need to attack the game. Test match rugby is a tough sport and you have to sharp and on it. We will regroup and be better."

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