Match Centre: Six Nations: France 33-31 England

France 33-31 England, Groupama Stadium, Lyon

Thomas Ramos kicked the decisive penalty in the 80th minute as France edged out England 33-31 in the final round of the Six Nations, to deny Steve Borthwick's side another major victory.

This was the first victory for the Les Bleus at home in the campaign as they finished second in the table while England - with two bonus points - had to settle for third.

England had an early injury setback as George Furbank was forced to leave the field with a calf injury with Marcus Smith coming off the bench to slot in at full-back.

As Uini Atonio was penalised, England won a penalty at the scrum which George Ford kicked to perfection in the 12th minute to start proceedings.

France hit back as Smith was penalised for not releasing the ball and Ramos kicked a three-pointer to level the scores before the hosts moved ahead.

The home side picked off an England line-out and sent a dummy for Nolann Le Garrec to touchdown. Ramos kicked the conversion to make it 10-3.

England's ill-discipline cost them as France won two more penalties which Ramos converted as they extended the lead to 13 points before England struck crucially before the break. Ollie Lawrence spotted a gap in the defence of the Les Blues to slide under the posts. Ford kicked the extras as the teams completed the opening half with a 16-10 scoreline.

England struck early in the second half as Sam Underhill and and the excellent Ben Earl combined to send Lawrence over for his second try and shortly after, Earl once again played a key role in setting up Smith who danced over the line. Ford kicked both the conversions as Borthwick's men moved 16-24 ahead.

The momentum once again shifted towards the hosts as Ollivon set up Leo Barre to dot down and shortly after, Ramos sent a kick for Damian Penaud, who in turn offloaded to Gael Fickou for their third try. A double conversion from Ramos meant France had a lead of 30-24 by the 62nd minute.

With five minutes left in the game, England seized looked to have won it. Ford and Smith combined to send the tireless Tommy Freeman in the corner. Ford also followed with the conversion making it 30-31 before Ramos held his nerve with the decisive penalty after England were debatably penalised for a no-arms on Romain Taofifenua.

Heartbreak for England in Lyon but plenty of positives to take forward with a team which the fans can get behind once again.

Team line-ups:

France: Barre; Penaud, Fickou, Depoortere, Bielle-Biarrey; Ramos, Le Garrec; Baille, Marchand, Atonio, Flament, Meafou, Cros, Ollivon, Alldritt (capt).

Replacements: Mauvaka, S Taofifenua, Colombe, R Taofifenua, Roumat, Boudehent, Lucu, Moefana.

England: Furbank; Freeman, Slade, Lawrence, Daly; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, George (capt), Cole, Itoje, Martin, Chessum, Underhill, Earl.

Replacements: Dan, Marler, Stuart, Roots, Dombrandt, Care, M Smith, Tuilagi.