France wins Six Nations after beating Scotland with record flourish
PARIS (AP) — France saw off a resilient Scotland 35-16 and clinched the Six Nations title with a tournament-try record on Saturday.
Coach Fabien Galthié's side needed only a victory at chilly Stade de France to ensure a first title since 2022. The bonus-point win helped Les Tricolores finish one point above England, which hammered Wales 68-14 with 10 tries.
France scored four tries to set a tournament record with 30, one more than England in 2001.
The final score was far more comfortable than the first half.
French indiscipline led to two sin-bins — one of which could have been a red for a lunging headbutt — and almost cost a try on the buzzer.
Scotland started the second half only 16-13 down and with an extra player for a few minutes, but managed just one penalty from flyhalf Finn Russell in the entire period.
The match turned following careless play from Russell, who tried a no-look pass from the back of his hand, resulting in a counterattack try in the 43rd minute.
Galloping flyhalf Romain Ntamack sent Louis Bielle-Biarrey into the left corner for his eighth try of the tournament. He equalled the record of England's Cyril Lowe in 1914 and Scotland's Ian Smith in 1925 when the tournament was the Five Nations.
France took control and fullback Thomas Ramos converted his own try near the hour mark. Ramos scored 20 points to move onto 450 overall and overtake Frédéric Michalak (436) as his country's all-time leading scorer.
With the pressure off, Gaël Fickou set up midfield partner Yoram Moefana for his second try to make it 35-16 and start the celebrations. ___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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