France ended their 18-year wait for a Six Nations victory at Twickenham with a record 53-10 bonus-point triumph on Saturday to keep their title hopes alive.

Les Bleus crossed over three times in the first half and were 24 points ahead at the midway point – the biggest half-time margin any side has had over England in the tournament.

The visitors added four more after the restart, with Thibaud Flament, Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud helping themselves to two tries apiece, while Thomas Ramos – who started the rout – finished with 23 points to his name.

A famous victory moves France level on points with Ireland, who are away at Scotland on Sunday, while England's campaign is effectively over with one round of games to go.

France were up and running inside five minutes following a rapid break as Ethan Dumortier fed Ramos to touch down and subsequently add the extras.

Ramos added to his tally from a penalty and Flament found a gap to power over soon after as France took complete control.

Marcus Smith temporarily reduced the deficit, only for Ramos to add another penalty of his own, before Ollivon smashed through Smith on the line to add to England's pain.

England looked dejected when Ramos converted again, but they started the second half well and, after Max Malins had one ruled out, Freddie Steward used his power to dot down.

Any hope of a miraculous comeback were ended eight minutes later when Ramos knocked a kick over the top into the path of Flament to race through.

The bonus point was secured at that stage but France were far from finished, with Ollivon alert at the breakdown – unlike England's players – to reach over and double his try count.

Penaud touched down under the posts and there was still time to add another try – France's seventh of the day – in one of England's darkest days in the tournament's history.

Wales claimed a much-needed first victory of this year's Six Nations after seeing off Italy 29-17 in Rome.

Warren Gatland's side arrived at Stadio Olimpico having only scored three tries in the tournament, but Rio Dyer, Liam Williams and Taulupe Faletau all crossed as they also earned the bonus point.

The result brought welcome relief for Wales, who could have lost their top-10 status in the world rankings with defeat in what was the likely wooden spoon decider.

Meanwhile, Italy continued their dismal record on home soil, where they have now suffered 25 successive defeats since beating Ireland 10 years ago.

Owen Williams kicked Wales in front and extended their lead to 10 points in the ninth minute when Rhys Webb's punt bounced fortuitously for Dyer to cross.

Tommaso Allan reduced the deficit but Liam Williams put the visitors back in control, the full-back evading five challenges before going over.

The hosts looked to respond and Juan Ignacio Brex was just unable to ground after a brilliant break from Paolo Garbisi. 

Wales subsequently pulled further clear as they were awarded a penalty try when Lorenzo Cannone collapsed the maul after Ken Owens drove his side over the line.

Despite the numerical disadvantage after Cannone was sin-binned, Italy made a bright start to the second half with Sebastian Negri collecting Allan’s punt to touch down.

But their momentum was halted when Pierre Bruno was also sent to the bin for a dangerous challenge on Wyn Jones, the winger fortunate to escape a red card after narrowly avoiding contact to the head.

Wales capitalised with the extra man to secure the bonus point, Webb bursting away before offloading for Faletau to go over. 

Italy had the final word, Brex crossing after a neat move but, despite a late rally, they could not deny their opponents victory.

Ireland travel to Scotland with their Grand Slam fate in their own hands in the penultimate round of Six Nations action, while Wales and Italy battle it out in a possible wooden spoon clash in Rome.

Andy Farrell's Ireland have defeated Wales, France and Italy in this year's edition – each secured with a bonus point – and are now two wins away from completing a clean sweep for a third time in the six team format.

Scotland, beaten by reigning champions France last time out, can get their own championship hopes back on track with victory over the leaders at Murrayfield in Sunday's standalone fixture.

That comes a day after Wales lock horns with Italy at Stadio Olimpico seeking their first victory since Warren Gatland returned as head coach. The Azzurri are themselves winless this tournament, but they are above Wales by virtue of collecting a losing bonus point.

England and France face off in this weekend's other fixture locked on 10 points apiece, with the winner still having a shot of finishing top of the pile heading into the final weekend of action.

Stats Perform previews the three games with the help of some standout Opta data.

ITALY V WALES 

FORM

Italy have finished bottom of the standings seven years running, but there is real hope of stopping the rot at Wales' expense.

Kieran Crowley's side won their most recent meeting with Wales, coming out on top 22-21 in Cardiff last year to snap a seven-year winless sequence in the tournament.

However, they have not beaten Wales at home since 2007 and are winless on their own patch in the competition in 24 outings since defeating Ireland in March 2013.

Gatland has again shuffled his pack in the hope of ending Wales' six-match losing run in the Six Nations – their worst run since losing seven on the spin between 2002 and 2003.

ONES TO WATCH

Ange Capuozzo was Player of the Match in this fixture last year, but he will miss Italy's remaining two matches through injury.

That opens a space for Harlequins fly-half Tommaso Allan, who ranked second for passes across Italy's first two games prior to being overlooked against Ireland.

Gatland has made six changes from the loss to England, with Rhys Webb coming into the side for his first Six Nations start since 2017.

Experienced figure Webb is back in the number nine jersey with a point to prove and a chance to hold down a place in the side ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

ENGLAND V FRANCE

FORM

England have defeated Wales and Italy, both by margins of 10-plus points, since losing to Scotland in Steve Borthwick's first game in charge.

The Red Rose are seeking a third straight win in the championship for the first time since 2020, while not since 2009-2010 have they won three in a row by double-figure margins.

France tasted defeat in their most recent away outing, going down 32-19 in a pivotal showdown with Ireland, but they have won their seven Six Nations games either side of that.

However, the home team on the day has won each of the past six tournament meetings between these sides, with France's most recent victory at Twickenham coming in 2005.

ONES TO WATCH

Borthwick has made a big decision in leaving out captain Owen Farrell – the first time he has been dropped for England since the 2015 World Cup – with Marcus Smith recalled.

Smith starred for Harlequins in their rout of Exeter last weekend after being released by Borthwick and he will be looking to transfer that club form onto the international stage.

Jonathan Danty comes in for his first start of the tournament for France as one of three changes, but it is Thibaud Flament who will have England's attention.

The 25-year-old, who has previously spent time living in England, has made the most tackles of any player in this year's Six Nations with 58 to his name.

SCOTLAND V IRELAND

FORM

Ireland have lived up to their pre-tournament favourites tag with three wins from three in 2023, while going further back they have won 10 of their past 11 Six Nations games.

Farrell's side have also won each of their last five games at Murrayfield, preventing their opponents from scoring more than one try in four of those five victories.

But Scotland have performed well this year, the only blemish coming in defeat to France last time out, and they have won three of their past four home games in the tournament.

Ireland may have had the better of this fixture in recent times, but seven of the last eight matches between the sides in Edinburgh have been decided by single-figure margins.

ONES TO WATCH

Stuart Hogg has been handed another start in a Scotland side showing two changes – Jonny Gray and Jack Dempsey coming in – for what will be his 100th Test appearance.

That makes the full-back, who is also his country's record try-scorer, one of four men to reach triple figures in a Scotland shirt after Ross Ford, Chris Paterson and Sean Lamont.

It could also be a milestone day for Johnny Sexton, who has recovered from a knock to return to an Ireland side that also contains fit-again Garry Ringrose and Tadhg Furlong.

Ireland captain Sexton requires eight points to overtake former team-mate Ronan O'Gara (557) as the top scorer in the history of the Six Nations.

Captain Johnny Sexton is one of a number of key players to return to Ireland's starting line-up for Sunday's Six Nations showdown with Scotland at Murrayfield.

Sexton sat out Ireland's 34-20 victory away to Italy two weeks ago with a knock sustained in the win against France in the previous round.

The Leinster fly-half requires just eight more points to overtake former team-mate Ronan O'Gara (557) as the top scorer in Six Nations history.

Ireland also welcome back Garry Ringrose and Tadhg Furlong from injury, while Conor Murray, Dan Sheehan and Peter O'Mahony are recalled as Andy Farrell makes six changes.

Centre Robbie Henshaw and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park are fit enough to be named among the replacements.

Farrell's side have won 10 of their past 11 games in the competition and are on for a first Grand Slam since 2018, having so far overcome Wales, France and Italy.

Scotland's title hopes were damaged in a 32-21 loss to reigning champions France last time out, coming on the back of wins over England and Wales in the first two rounds.

Gregor Townsend has made two changes from the defeat in Paris, with Jack Dempsey and Jonny Gray named in the XV.

Gray joins his brother Richie in an experienced second row, with Grant Gilchrist unavailable through suspension after being sent off against France. 

Hamish Watson is the other player to make way for Scotland, who have won three of their past four home games in the Six Nations.

Sunday's contest in Edinburgh will be a special occasion for Stuart Hogg, as he is set to become only the fourth Scotland player to make a century of appearances.

"We had to make a change with Grant banned, and with the back row we feel Jack has done really well off the bench and been training at a really high level," Townsend said.

"Jack has been very consistent in his play, and integrated well with the group, and we feel it is the right time and the right opposition for him to start.

"Scott Cummings and Hamish can add real speed off the bench."

Ireland have won 19 of their 23 matches against Scotland in the Six Nations (L4), including each of their past five in a row.

Teams:

Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, Matt Fagerson, Jamie Ritchie (c), Jack Dempsey.

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, Simon Berghan, Scott Cummings, Hamish Watson, Ali Price, Blair Kinghorn, Chris Harris.

Ireland: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Johnny Sexton (c), Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Tom O'Toole, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Ross Byrne, Robbie Henshaw.

Warren Gatland told Wales to "be brave" as he made six changes to his starting XV for Saturday's Six Nations tussle with fellow strugglers Italy.

The match in Rome, a likely Wooden Spoon decider, will see Rhys Webb make his first Test start since October 2020, stepping in at scrum-half to replace Tomos Williams.

Rio Dyer replaces wing Louis Rees-Zammit, who Gatland backed to be a useful impact replacement, with full-back Liam Williams also coming in.

Dafydd Jenkins, Jac Morgan and Wyn Jones come into the pack, with former captain Alun Wyn Jones among those missing out.

After defeats to Ireland, Scotland and England, head coach Gatland is determined Wales give a better account of themselves against the Azzurri at Stadio Olimpico.

Gatland said: "We feel that having watched Italy and how they'll tend to play from everywhere, including their own 22, getting guys on the ball is going to be pretty important.

"We've been disappointed with the results so far and for me it's hard to take as it's the first time I've lost three games in the Six Nations with Wales. We've had a lot of things going on off the field as well, but there are no excuses.

"The message to the players has been that we have to be smart in terms of the way we play, but we've also got to be brave and make sure that when the opportunities are on we shift the ball. We have to keep scanning and looking at options and if there's a chance to move the ball then be brave and do that."

Teams:

Italy: Tommaso Allan, Edoardo Padovani, Juan Ignacio Brex,Tommaso Menoncello, Pierre Bruno, Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari, Niccolo Cannon, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro (captain), Lorenzo Cannon.

Replacements: Luca Bigi, Federico Zani, Marco Riccioni, Edoardo Iachizzi, Giovanni Pettinelli, Manuel Zuliani, Alessandro Fusco, Luca Morisi.

Wales: Liam Williams, Josh Adams, Mason Grady, Joe Hawkins, Rio Dyer, Owen Williams, Rhys Webb; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens (captain), Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Dafydd Jenkins, Jac Morgan, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Gareth Thomas, Dillon Lewis, Rhys Davies, Tommy Reffell, Tomos Williams, George North, Louis Rees-Zammit.

England captain Owen Farrell has been dropped to the bench for Saturday's clash with France as head coach Steve Borthwick offered no guarantees about his long-term future as skipper.

Marcus Smith will step in at fly-half, while Ellis Genge will captain the side, but Borthwick said Farrell will take over the leadership once he comes on as a replacement.

Farrell's goal-kicking has been poor during this Six Nations campaign and that was one of several factors behind Borthwick's decision.

Ahead of Saturday's match at Twickenham, the decision to demote 104-cap Farrell was the standout selection issue on either side, particularly as it comes so soon in Borthwick's reign, and ahead of a Rugby World Cup later in the year. This will be just Borthwick's fourth game in charge.

Genge was captain under Borthwick during their time together at Leicester Tigers, and it remains to be seen whether the coach sees him occupying the role on a regular basis at international level. This will be his first time captaining England from the start in a Test.

Borthwick knew his selection would be a contentious move, and he said England were in "a fantastic position" to have such strong options at fly-half.

"My job is to select who the right person to start and who the right person to come off the bench is," Borthwick said.

Eddie Jones' successor stressed he made line-up decisions on a game-by-game basis and sidestepped a question about Farrell's long-term future as captain, saying he was focusing only on the France game.

Farrell has been captain since the 2019 Six Nations. Borthwick said the 31-year-old had been "brilliant" in training this week, while also hailing Genge's captaincy qualities. He described Genge as "a fantastic leader, a natural leader, and he's somebody players follow".

"To have Ellis and Owen there, it's two brilliant men that these players get behind," Borthwick added. "I can't praise Owen enough, not just for this week but every day since we've started working together in this capacity. He cares so deeply about this team."

Asked about Farrell's kicking problems in relation to the team selection, Borthwick said: "I consider every aspect as I try to do this job as thoroughly as possible.

"I think if you were to track all the teams I've selected over the last few years, there have been some pretty bold decisions. I think what I've tried to do is pick a team that is right team for that game.

"That's what I do every single week. Every game matters for England. I believe this is the right team in all the different considerations and all the different factors against a very, very good French team."

Teams:

England: Freddie Steward, Max Malins, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Anthony Watson, Marcus Smith, Jack van Poortvliet; Ellis Genge (captain), Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Lewis Ludlam, Jack Willis, Alex Dombrandt.

Replacements: Jack Walker, Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, David Ribbans, Ben Curry, Alex Mitchell, Owen Farrell, Henry Arundell.

France: Thomas Ramos, Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Ethan Dumortier, Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont (captain); Cyril Baille, Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri, Thibaud Flament, Paul Willemse, Francois Cros, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt.

Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Reda Wardi, Sipili Falatea, Romain Taofifenua, Sekou Macalou, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Melvyn Jaminet.

Courtney Lawes has been ruled out of England's Six Nations clash with France at Twickenham on Saturday because of a shoulder injury.

After recovering from a calf problem sustained while playing for Northampton, vice-captain Lawes returned off the bench for Steve Borthwick's side as they beat Wales 20-10 at the Principality Stadium in late February.

However, Lawes has now suffered more injury disappointment as an issue with his shoulder forces the lock to withdraw from the squad for the France game.

Marcus Smith has been included in the 27-man squad after the fly-half was left out of Borthwick's group for a three-day training camp in Brighton.

Smith's inclusion means George Ford is released to Sale Sharks to play against London Irish on Sunday, while Max Malins is named in the squad after recovering from an ankle injury that meant he missed the Brighton training camp.

The other players released were forwards Tom Dunn, Joe Heyes, Bevan Rodd and Sam Simmonds, as well as backs Tommy Freeman, Cadan Murley and Ben Youngs.

Full England squad:

Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Lewis Ludlam, David Ribbans, Kyle Sinckler, Mako Vunipola, Jack Walker, Jack Willis.

Backs: Henry Arundell, Owen Farrell, Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Alex Mitchell, Henry Slade, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson.

Grant Glichrist will miss the rest of the Six Nations after the Scotland lock was given a three-week ban for his red card against France.

Gilchrist was given his marching orders for a dangerous tackle on Anthony Jelonch during a 32-21 victory for the defending champions at the Stade de France last month.

The 32-year-old could have faced a six-week suspension, but an independent judicial committee ruled that he must miss out three matches.

Gilchrist will sit out a clash with leaders Ireland at Murrayfield on Sunday and Scotland's final game of the tournament at home to Italy six days later.

The forward will be cleared to play for Edinburgh against Connacht on March 25 once he has completed a tackle course.

Scotland are second in the table, five points behind Ireland after Les Bleus consigned them to a first defeat of the tournament.

Alex Cuthbert will miss Wales' two remaining Six Nations games due to a foot injury.

The wing came off the bench during defeats to Ireland and Scotland.

Cuthbert was ruled out of the 20-10 loss to England at the Principality Stadium last time out after doing damage to his foot.

The 32-year-old Ospreys flyer will play no part in a trip to face Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday or Wales' final match of the tournament against France at Parc des Princes on March 18.

Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams started on the wings in the defeat to England in Cardiff, the former scoring the only try for Warren Gatland's side.

Wales are bottom of the table without a point from three matches, facing a battle to avoid the Wooden Spoon.

Marcus Smith has been recalled to England's 36-man squad ahead of next weekend's Six Nations clash with France.

The fly-half was not part of England's training camp in Brighton after being omitted from the squad by Steve Borthwick.

Smith instead played for Harlequins in Saturday's 40-5 victory over Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham, where he set up two tries in an impressive display.

After getting some valuable minutes under his belt at club level, Smith is firmly in Red Rose head coach Borthwick's plans for Saturday's visit of France.

Joe Heyes also returned to England's extended squad that was announced on Sunday, while the uncapped Cadan Murley was included on the list.

Borthwick is scheduled to announce his 23-man matchday squad on Tuesday as England look to keep their outside Six Nations title hopes alive.

They lost to Scotland in their opening fixture of Borthwick's reign, but they have since defeated Italy and Wales to sit within five points of leaders Ireland.

Full England squad:

Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, David Ribbans, Bevan Rodd, Sam Simmonds, Kyle Sinckler, Mako Vunipola, Jack Walker, Jack Willis.

Backs: Henry Arundell, Owen Farrell, Tommy Freeman, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Alex Mitchell, Cadan Murley, Henry Slade, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs.

Mohamed Haouas will play no part in the rest of France's Six Nations campaign after he was banned for a collision with Scotland's Ben White.

The prop made head-on-head contact with White while trying to clear out the Scotland scrum-half in the 10th minute of France's 32-21 win at the Stade de France on Sunday.

Haouas also received a red card against Scotland in the 2020 edition of the competition, being given a three-week ban for punching Jamie Ritchie.

He has received a four-week suspension on this occasion, meaning he will miss France's matches with England and Wales as his team bid to retain the Six Nations.

A widely reported statement from Six Nations said: "French prop Mohamed Haouas appeared before an independent judicial committee via video link having received a red card for an act of foul play in the Guinness Six Nations match between France and Scotland on Sunday.

"After reviewing all the evidence, the committee applied World Rugby's mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.

"Having acknowledged that there were no aggravating factors and accepted mitigating factors including the player's early acknowledgement that the incident warranted a red card; the lack of intent and premeditation and clearly expressed remorse, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by two weeks, resulting in a sanction of four weeks."

The suspension leaves head coach Fabien Galthie with a headache ahead of Saturday's meeting with England at Twickenham, with first-choice prop Uini Atonio also unavailable following his ban for a tackle in the loss to Ireland.

Sipili Falatea looks to be the favourite to deputise against England, though Atonio could return for the clash with Wales should he complete a tackle coaching intervention program.

England coach Steve Borthwick believes Marcus Smith will benefit from playing on his return to Harlequins after the fly-half was left out of his 26-man training squad.

Smith was omitted from Borthwick's selection ahead of England's Six Nations meeting with holders France next week.

While the 24-year-old has not been counted out of contention for that match at Twickenham on March 11, it does cast doubt on his position in the matchday squad.

However, Borthwick – who recalled George Ford – is confident game time with his club will do Smith good.

"The decision was that Marcus would benefit from game time at his club and having that match sharpness," Borthwick said.

"I'm not picking a squad for France. We're not in Test week, we're in a training camp week.

"George played for his club at the weekend, and this is an opportunity for Marcus to go and play.

"Marcus had very limited game time against Wales because of the nature of the game, so I thought this was a step forward for him.

"On a weekly basis, you're making a decision on what is the right thing for the player this week to be then ready to play for England.

"For all our players, I'm making those decisions. For some, it's to go and get game time, for others it's to be in the training camp here."

Ford has only just recovered from injury but Borthwick, who worked alongside him at Leicester Tigers, has not hesitated in getting the Sale Sharks fly-half into the fold.

"We are blessed with some fantastic fly-halves in this country," Borthwick said. "They all have different skillsets and different qualities, so that means it is a great position of strength for England.

"George is looking tremendously sharp and in great condition, and is clearly a very experienced player.

"That adds to the strength we have in that position. I am looking forward to seeing Marcus play this weekend, and when you add in Owen [Farrell] and Fin Smith – who I have been hugely impressed by – it shows [it's] a position where we are blessed to have a number of top-quality players."

Max Malins has been left out of the squad while he nurses an ankle issue, with Jonny May called up in his place.

Finlay Bealham has been ruled out of Ireland's remaining two Six Nations games with a knee injury.

The 31-year-old prop started Ireland's wins over Wales, France and Italy, but he twisted his knee during Saturday's 34-20 victory in Rome.

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) confirmed on Monday that Bealham will play no further part in the 2023 tournament.

However, Bealham's lay-off coincides with Tadhg Furlong's return to the Ireland squad for this week's mini-camp.

Furlong has recovered from a calf injury that has ruled him out of his side's opening three games, while scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Parker is back from a hamstring problem.

Skipper Johnny Sexton and centres Robbie Henshaw and Gary Ringrose are also part of Andy Farrell's 27-man training squad.

Ireland top the Six Nations standings and are on course for a first Grand Slam since 2018 ahead of facing Scotland at Murrayfield on March 12.

The world's top-ranked side conclude their campaign against England at the Aviva Stadium six days later.

Scotland boss Gregor Townsend claimed his team did everything but take their chances as they fell 32-21 to France in Paris, seeing Grand Slam hopes collapse.

The visitors came back from an early 19-0 deficit to close to 25-21 going into the final moments, when Gael Fickou went over for a clinching try.

After beginning their campaign with wins over England and Wales, the Scots arrived at the Stade de France believing they could extend their successful run, but an early red card for Grant Gilchrist put them in trouble.

Fabien Galthie's hosts pulled clear but were down to 14 men themselves when Mohamed Haouas was ordered off for a head-on-head hit on Ben White.

Head coach Townsend said: "From our perspective we're disappointed not to win. I'm so proud of a lot of aspects of the game, how we played, the effort that we put in, our togetherness, our resilience that was on show, but we created enough chances to win the game.

"We created enough chances to be leading at half-time, which was incredible to think when we were a man down and points down on the scoreboard. We believed we could win that in the second half, and we're just disappointed we didn't come away with a win.

"In the second half the game opened up even more, and we had opportunities to take them on wide, which we did. We just didn't take those opportunities. Credit to France in defence, but we probably played better today than in our last two games, and we did enough to win. We feel we did enough to win, but you've got to take those opportunities when you play the top teams in the world."

There is still a chance of a Triple Crown, with unbeaten Ireland heading to Murrayfield in two weeks' time.

"It's big for us to be still in the competition with two games to go, to be playing for a trophy and the Triple Crown," Townsend said. "It'll be a different game against Ireland. I don't think it will be as open. We'll wait and see if it is, and they're a difficult team to play against.

"But we really believe in what we have here. We've got up against one of the best teams in the world on their own patch with 14 men, and we've come away really disappointed not to get a win or get four tries against their defence."

France defence coach Shaun Edwards reflected on a dramatic match, saying Les Bleus knew the size of the challenge they faced.

"It's difficult to sum it up because there were so many ebbs and flows: red cards, fantastic tries, interceptions," Edwards said. "It had the lot, some fantastic goal-kicking as well. It was a high-class game.

"We knew we were playing against a high-quality opponent. They're the only team to have beaten us here since Fabien took over, so we were doubly determined not to let that happen again.

"It ended up being 14 against 14 so that was equal, but obviously having an advantage at first for us was something we took, and we picked up some points. It doesn't affect that much in defence. I think both teams adapted well."

France got back to winning ways in the Six Nations with a 32-21 bonus-point victory over Scotland at the Stade de France.

Scotland headed into Sunday's game having opened the competition with back-to-back wins for the first time ever in the Six Nations era, but their hopes of setting up a potential Grand Slam decider against Ireland were ended as France bounced back from their 32-19 defeat to Andy Farrell's side in their last outing.

France were ahead within five minutes through Roman Ntamack, with Thomas Ramos adding the extras, and things went from bad to worse for Scotland shortly after when Grant Gilchrist was sent off for a high tackle on Anthony Jelonch.

The hosts extended their lead to 19-0 with tries from Ethan Dumortier and Ramos, though they were down to 14 men themselves when Mohamed Haouas saw red for a head-on-head hit on Ben White.

Huw Jones reduced the deficit prior to the break before going over again shortly after the restart to spark hopes of a Scotland revival, though a Ramos kick went through the posts to stretch France's advantage to 11 points.

Finn Russell then barrelled over before converting his own try to cut the lead to just four, and his team got the ball back with less than two minutes to play.

Scotland needed to go almost the full length of the field, but a penalty handed possession back to France, and the hosts capped the victory through Gael Fickou.