England defeated France 42–21 in the championship’s final match to complete a third consecutive Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam. It was England’s fifth consecutive championship overall and their 28th consecutive victory in the competition. France, who finished behind only England in the championship, had four wins going into the match and was behind England by one bonus point.
In front of a sold-out audience of 28,000 spectators in Bordeaux, England surged out to an early 14-point lead in the championship match.After four minutes, England prop Maud Muir crashed over, and after eleven minutes, No. 8 Alex Matthews ran over.After 17 minutes, centre Gabrielle Vernier scored for France to retaliate.
In the twenty-fourth minute, the home team’s resolve to run the ball proved costly. When Emilie Boulard tried to remove the ball from her 22-yard line, she intercepted it and Abby Dow quickly crossed the line.
France’s response came from winger Marine Menager, who charged up the line and made some shoddy tackling, but England’s forward strength won out as flanker Marlie Packer and hooker Amy Cokayne scored goals before halftime, giving England a 35-14 lead at the break.
The previous season, at Twickenham, England led 33-0 at halftime but managed to win by five points thanks to a valiant French comeback.
This time, after 44 minutes, prop Assia Khalfaoui’s chances of a comeback were dashed when he was issued a yellow card for head-to-head collision with England’s Morwenna Talling, which was swiftly elevated to a red card on video review.
With ten minutes remaining, Menager’s goal in the corner gave the French some hope again, but it also awakened England, as Matthews scored by bursting through a space.
All six English tries were converted by Holly Aitchison, who had trouble with her placement kicking during the competition. All three French goals were scored by Lina Queyroi.
After losing to England by 78 points in their last game, Ireland overcame Scotland in Belfast to win 15–12 and guarantee their spot in the World Cup.
And with three minutes remaining, Dannah O’Brien booted the game-winning penalty.Scotland came in fourth. Despite not losing the tournament, Wales took home the wooden spoon as Lleucu George scored on Sisilia Tuipulotu’s last-minute try to help Wales defeat fifth-place Italy 22–20 in Cardiff.