The clock goes red and France need a score to win the Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
That was not in the script.
England had cruised past their competition leading up the Grand Slam decider, scoring 33 tries in four comfortable wins.
Les Bleues came off the back of a scare in Parma against Italy, where they were behind at half-time but were saved by a second-half response.
The general consensus was the Red Roses would cruise to a fourth consecutive Grand Slam.
A thrilling 43-42 win secured four in a row and a seventh straight Six Nations title was achieved.
It may not have been perfect and the “complete performance” England head coach John Mitchell asked of his players.
Before the 25-minute mark, Mitchell’s side led 31-7 but their dominance did not remain as their visitors outscored their hosts 21-12 in the second half, scoring six tries across the 80 minutes.
However, Mitchell was happy his side have been tested before a home Rugby World Cup that starts in August.
“I would rather have this sort of feedback any day of the week,” Mitchell told BBC Sport.
“We got it done, we completed a goal that hasn’t been done in the modern era – four Grand Slams in a row – and now we can have a celebration and get ready for a World Cup.
“The French get energy from success but I knew that we would have to win the game three or four times.”
England’s last defeat in the Six Nations was against France in 2018 and in any fixture was in the World Cup final by New Zealand in 2022.
The Red Roses are on a 25-game winning run and eyeing their own record 30-Test winning streak, which came to an end in that World Cup final.
A pattern which Mitchell does not want repeated.
“Those [close] games do help us – we get them occasionally,” Mitchell added.
“The Red Roses are a unique team in the world but teams are out to perform against us.
“It’s going to continue in 2025. We are going to have to raise our game, that is clear.”
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