England beats France 26-25 and shakes up Six Nations title race

By Canadian Press on February 8, 2025.

LONDON (AP) — Fin Smith’s match-winning conversion of the last-gasp try he set up lifted England over Six Nations title favorite France 26-25 in a Twickenham thriller on Saturday.

The score changed three times in the last 10 minutes, with England grabbing the lead for the first time in the match in the 70th through replacement prop Fin Baxter. Smith converted for 19-18, taking over the goalkicking from Marcus Smith, who badly pulled his last two goalkicks.

Five minutes later, France retook the lead after Antoine Dupont and Damian Penaud counterattacked from deep to give Louis Bielle-Biarrey his second try of the match. France led 25-19.

Then England forced a lineout in France territory, mauled it, and Fin Smith fed Elliot Daly in a huge gap to score beside the posts in the 79th. Fin Smith’s conversion completed a remarkable fightback.

For the past year, England has been criticized for its failure to finish off winning positions in the last quarter. But it finally finished the job with a bonus-point win that puts it into title contention.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

The Associated Press