France completed their first Grand Slam in the Six Nations tournament since 2010 with a well deserved win over a willing but limited England side at the Stade de France on Saturday night.
It finished 25-13 to give Fabien Galthié's outfit their first Six Nations title since that clean sweep of five victories 12 years ago.
The hosts entered the game as the form team on the back of triumphs in which they have shown silk and steel.
England have been inconsistent throughout the tournament clocking up losses to Scotland and Ireland. While the win over Italy was routine, the success over Wales became tense after they had established a commanding position.
Conceding that they would not match the French for flair, England tried to kick for territory in the early stages.
Pointless
It brought no rewards.
Melvyn Jaminet opened the scoring for France via a penalty in the eighth minute after England were sanctioned for a collapsed scrum.
And the hosts had their first try after 15 minutes. Gael Fickou went over on the right hand side after collecting a pass over the top from Romain Ntamack.
He failed to add the conversion. Jaminet was less profligate 12 minutes later when he added another three points to make it 11-3.
Marcus Smith notched up his second penalty to keep the visitors within sight at 11-6.
Finish
But the game was effectively over on the stroke of half-time.
France worked the ball left and right and though Ellis Genge managed to stop Ntamack in full flight, Francois Cros picked up the ball and nudged it over the line.
Ntamack added the conversion for 18-6. And from then it was whether France would go for overt flamboyance or just rack up the points.
In the event, it was neither. Freddie Steward scored England's first try of the game nine minutes into the second-half after a move which showed a tad more zip.
Smith's conversion brought England within five points. But they could not exert the pressure to spoil the hosts' day.
Fittingly, skipper Antoine Dupont broke clear and touched down between the posts to set up an easy conversion for Jaminet and a 25-13 scoreline with 20 minutes remaining.
Out came the Marseillaise. And as the clock ticked down, the substitutes steadied themselves on the touchline for the big love-in with the rest of the team and the jubilant crowd.
🇫🇷🏆 𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐈 𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐔 ! 😍🇫🇷#NeFaisonsXV #LeTournoiEstBleu pic.twitter.com/skq9kZIARi
— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) March 19, 2022
There was more singing as the Six Nations trophy was presented. And some fireworks too.
“We are very lucky to have fantastic players," said France team manager Raphael Ibanez.
"We need to keep our feet on the ground and there’s more to come. We can still improve.”
