France v Scotland LIVE: Result and reaction as Les Bleus clinch Six Nations title to deny England
France 35-16 Scotland: Les Bleus shook off the pressure with a superb second-half display to clinch the championship title ahead of England
France beat Scotland 35-16 at the Stade de France to clinch the Six Nations title for the first time since 2022.
Their fourth win of the competition left them on 21 points, one ahead of England who beat Wales earlier in the day to pile the pressure on Les Bleus. Defending champions Ireland finished third on 19 after beating Italy in Rome.
Fabien Galthie’s side had ensured that their fate was in their own hands with their dismantling of Ireland last weekend, seizing control of the Six Nations. A win of any kind was always going to be enough to secure the crown and in a thrilling finale, they produced a scintillating second-half display to claim a second title win of the Galthie era.
Defeat for Scotland brought a disappointing campaign to an end. Hopes of a title challenge did not materialise for Gregor Townsend’s men after their run of Calcutta Cup dominance came to an end, and the Scots threatened to throw away a strong lead against Wales in the penultimate round, too. Questions my now be raised about Townsend’s future as Scotland coach
Relive the action from the Stade de France in our live blog below:
Scotland Coach Gregor Townsend told ITV:
"We asked the players to deliver a performance of effort and physicality and they did that. Our forwards played outstanding rugby at times, really fronted up.
"We didn't get the breaks, the bad luck before half-time, with a disallowed try, and then a mistake and they scored just after half-time. We were in that game for a lot of it.
"We were a bum cheek away from converting in the first half when Blair Kinghorn was just in touch and they are a very good defence. You need to have patience and accuracy and that was little bit missing today.
"It is a very tough competition. Teams can't play well every game no-one won a Grand Slam. We are a quality side, it just didn't go our way this year."
Antoine Dupont raises the trophy, marking his second Six Nations victory in his career.
France defence coach Shaun Edwards told ITV:
“A special night for myself" as he celebrates his 250th rugby union international as a coach.
"The stars aligned for me tonight. We showed resilience in defence second half, when we only conceded three points.
"We defended really well against Ireland but kind of went off it for the last five minutes, but today we were on it for the full 80."
On Louis Bielle-Biarrey: "Since the World Cup in 2023 he has gotten better and better, and hopefully he gets better again. He is a sensational athlete, a wonderful guy.
"I feel just as happy as if it was a Grand Slam because it shows we had great resilience to come back from losing a game.”
Player of the match Yoram Moefana told ITV:
"It's amazing. It was a very tough game, Scotland are a big team. I want to say thank you to the team, for fighting with Scotland from the start to the end.
"It's amazing. The difference in France this year was being happy on the field and playing our game.
"We want to take the pressure on the field and let's go play with the ball.
"It's so bad for Antoine Dupont, but this game was for him too. We want to fight in the game for him and we did. We're so happy."
Full-time! France 35-16 Scotland, 80 minutes
France have the title back in their possession. They are the 2025 Six Nations champions!
Scotland held their ground in the first half, but France came out stronger after the break, claiming the title ahead of England, who dominated Wales earlier today.
France 35-16 Scotland, 78 minutes
Ritchie is penalised for challenging Penaud for the high ball, with Penaud staying down briefly before getting back on his feet. France clears to touch on the right.
They benefit from the knock-on advantage at the line-out, but the referee quickly halts play for a scrum.
France 35-16 Scotland, 75 minutes
Penalty, Jegou and France are penalised for being offside, but despite a previous warning from referee Matt Carley, no yellow card is given.
France 35-16 Scotland, 71 minutes
Penalty, a no-arms tackle in the 22 brings the play back. It’s held-up, Scotland pressure the French try-line, but Muncaster is stopped by Flament. No try awarded.
France 35-16 Scotland, 69 minutes
Scotland shift their attack towards Van der Merwe on the left, but Ramos and Penaud combine to drive him into touch. The visitors have lost some of their attacking threat here.
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