France deserve coronation but fall short of royal performance

There’s more than one way to skin a game of rugby, and Shaun Edwards will be delighted with the way his side defended.

France's Nolann Le Garrec lifts the trophy after winning the 6 Nations Pic ©INPHO/Dave Winter

For a moment, a brief, flickering moment, you just wondered whether it was all about to come crashing down. Scotland had just scored one of the great tries, off the back of a twisty blistering run from Blair Kinghorn, which had begun well back in his own 22, and went in, out, one way then the other, deep into the French half.

Matt Fagerson carried the ball on and all of a sudden there was Tom Jordan, slipping away from Gaël Fickou like he was shrugging off a wet raincoat, to score. France were a man down, Scotland were two points up, and Finn Russell was staring down the conversion. And then – pop! – the referee, Matt Carley, punctured the bubble and told Russell that actually Kinghorn had just been in touch.