England vs France rugby LIVE: Result and reaction as England win Women’s Six Nations grand slam decider

England 38-33 France: A world-record crowd of more than 58,000 were at Twickenham to see England seal another Women’s Six Nations grand slam

(Action Images via Reuters)

England beat a spirited France 38-33 to win their fifth straight Women’s Six Nations title with a grand slam in front of a world-record crowd at Twickenham to give coach Simon Middleton a fitting farewell.

With 58,498 fans in attendance, England struggled with nerves at first before pulling away from fellow unbeaten side France to go into the break with a commanding 33-0 lead.

Abby Dow scored England’s first try and although Helena Rowland missed the conversion, she made no mistake when captain Marlie Packer and Alex Matthews powered over. France were also temporarily down to 14 players when Jessy Tremouliere was sent to the sin bin, which also welcomed Rose Bernadou later in the half, helping England to score from a penalty try before Zoe Aldcroft also went over.

But England took their foot off the gas in the second half and France got on the board when Emilie Boulard scored the opening try before Gabrielle Vernier went through the English defence for a second. Both teams then scored from rolling mauls to make it 38-21 to England with 65 minutes on the clock. With five minutes left, France rallied with two more tries from Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet, but Tremouliere missed the first conversion as England held on for another grand slam.

Relive England’s historic win over France in the Women’s Six Nations, below

England vs France LIVE: Updates from Women’s Six Nations decider

• England beat France 38-33 at Twickenham in Women’s Six Nations grand slam decider
• A world record crowd for women’s rugby of more than 58,000 people watch the Twickenham triumph
• FULL-TIME! England 38-33 France
• 80’ - TRY! Banet crosses for second of France’s late consolation tries (ENG 38-33 FRA)
• 66’ - TRY! Escudero touches down from the back of a drive (ENG 38-21 FRA)
• 60’ - TRY! Davies dots down from an unstoppable drive (ENG 38-14 FRA)
• 55’ - TRY! Vernier snipes over from the base of a ruck after great dummy (ENG 33-14 FRA)
• 49’ - TRY! France finally score as Boulard barrels over out wide (ENG 33-7 FRA)
• 40’ - TRY! Aldcroft finishes a neat team move for the fifth try (ENG 33-0 FRA)
• 37’ - PENALTY TRY! Bernadou tackles from an offside position on the line (ENG 26-0 FRA)
• 32’ - TRY! Dominant England scrum ends with Matthews touching down (ENG 19-0 FRA)Eng
• 26’ - TRY! Sublime Heard offload allows Packer to power across the line (ENG 12-0 FRA)
• 17’ - TRY! Dow shows incredible pace to blaze over from England’s first attack (ENG 5-0 FRA)

[29 April 2023 14:04 · Mike Jones]

HT England 33-0 France

Here’s the try from Zoe Aldcroft, scored just on the stroke of half-time.

[29 April 2023 14:00 · Mike Jones]

HT England 33-0 France

(Action Images via Reuters)

(PA)

[29 April 2023 13:56 · Mike Jones]

Half-time: England 33-0 France

That’s a perfect first 40 minutes for England. After weathering an early storm from France, the Red Roses wrestled the momentum and flew up the pitch scoring from their first attack.

From there it was a one-sided show, tries for Abby Dow, Marlie Packer, Zoe Aldcroft and Alex Matthews has given them a serious lead.

[29 April 2023 13:54 · Mike Jones]

England 33-0 France (Rowland, conv)

An easy kick for Helena Rowland adds to England’s lead.

[29 April 2023 13:52 · Mike Jones]

TRY! England 31-0 France (Aldcroft, 40+2’)

40+2 mins: Powerful direct drives from England see them cross the line once again. The Red Roses stretch the play out to the left, quickly move it back inside and a gap opens up for Zoe Aldcroft who flies through and scores.

[29 April 2023 13:47 · Mike Jones]

PENALTY TRY! England 26-0 France

37 mins: The decision is made, Bernadou is given a yellow card, France are down to 13 players and England are awarded a penalty try which also earns them a bonus point.

[29 April 2023 13:45 · Mike Jones]

England 19-0 France

36 mins: Another TMO consultation to see if England should be awarded a penalty try. Lucy Packer lunges for the line as Rose Bernadou tackles her from an offside position.

[29 April 2023 13:41 · Mike Jones]

England 19-0 France

35 mins: Close! Lark Davies gets over the try line but seems to have just been held up by Audrey Forlani. The TMO can’t find a compelling reason to overturn the referee’s decision and England miss out on their fourth try of the half.

[29 April 2023 13:38 · Mike Jones]

England 19-0 France (Rowland, conv)

Another simple one for Helena Rowland who kicks it over the top. England are totally dominant now.

[29 April 2023 13:37 · Mike Jones]

TRY! England 17-0 France (Matthews, 32’)

32 mins: The Red Roses elect to run the scrum from the penalty and it pays off. The ball is passed over to Alex Matthews as England use the extra body to their advantage.

She goes over the line right beside the sticks.