England scored a 43-42 victory with the energetic French side on Saturday for their seventh consecutive Women’s Six Nations title and their fourth Grand Slam.
John Mitchell’s team saw an astonishing second half performance from France. France found 31-7 at one point after the second half after five matches: Abby Dow, Emma Sing (2), Lark Atkin Davis and Claudia MacDonald.
France cut the deficit to 10 points, with England’s captain Zoe Aldcroft recovering his advantage early in the second half. Kelly Irby’s attempts continued to maintain pressure before Dow and Morgan Bourgeois set up a nervous finish in front of a crowd of over 37,000 people in Twickenham
France has scored two more tries in the last eight minutes, but England has extended their winning streak to 25 matches, maintaining momentum for entering the Home World Cup later this year.
“I am very proud of the efforts of all the girls. Today we fought it. I believe France came to us and they kept everything to us,” Aldcroft told the BBC after the match.
“When you put pressure on, you need to hold your feet on the throttle. After this, drink a few drinks and enjoy tonight!”