Following a 35-16 victory over Scotland in the Six Nations clash at the Stade de France on Saturday, here are the player ratings for France.
15 Thomas Ramos: Scored a try and there were a few classy moments, but he did not have the ball in hand a huge amount as Scotland kept possession pretty effectively. 7
14 Damian Penaud: Like Ramos, he wasn’t a huge factor in attack, but he did handle Duhan van der Merwe pretty well on his wing. Has had better days, but was generally solid. 6
13 Gael Fickou: Made an immediate impact on his return by setting up his centre partner for the opening try, but then missed a few tackles in key positions. Overall a positive impact, however. 7
12 Yoram Moefana: Has really grown in this Six Nations to become a top-class Test player. On both sides of the ball he was in the thick of the action. Like Fickou, there were a few misses in defence, but that shouldn’t detract from a fine performance. 8
Record-breaker
11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey: Absolutely irresistible. Broke the Six Nations try-scoring record with his crucial effort just after the break before playing a crucial role in Moefana’s second. 8
10 Romain Ntamack: With the way France play, Ntamack is not someone who wrestles control of the game as that job is almost solely left to the scrum-half, but he imparts himself when necessary and he did that on Saturday. 7
9 Maxime Lucu: For the second week running, no Antoine Dupont, no problem for Les Bleus as Lucu had another superb match. Particularly after the interval, he produced a few key moments which got them over the line. 8
8 Gregory Alldritt (c): As ever, the number eight was tireless in his work ethic but his impact was limited. Still contributed to France’s victory but he wasn’t his imperious self. 6
7 Paul Boudehent: It has been a good tournament for the 25-year-old but he was given a challenging time by the Scottish back-row, who very much brought it for the finale. 6
6 Francois Cros: There is a reason why he was the only French forward to stay on the field after another absolutely relentless performance on both sides of the ball. 8
Le Bomb Squad fires France to Six Nations title as Scotland threat disarmed in Paris
5 Mickael Guillard: Quieter than he was against Italy and Ireland as a lot of his work was done on defence. 6
Vital player for France
4 Thibaud Flament: Immense in the set-piece and also put in a huge defensive shift. Flament’s contribution is sometimes underrated but he is a crucial cog in the pack. 8
3 Uini Atonio: Laid the platform nicely despite clearly suffering with an injury towards the end of his stint on the field. Put in a massive hit when seemingly stricken before going off in the second half. 6
2 Peato Mauvaka: Should have been sent-off for his cheap shot on Ben White, even if the Scottish scrum-half was rather theatrical with his reaction. However, he managed to get away with it before being replaced early in the second period. 4
1 Jean-Baptiste Gros: Some great work in the loose and scrum from the prop, who has been very solid throughout the Six Nations, but received a yellow card after a series of team indiscretions. 6
Replacements: Once again, Fabien Galthie’s plan worked to perfection as ‘Le Bomb Squad’ took the game away from Scotland. You could see how the fresh legs galvanised the French against a Scottish side – lacking the same depth and therefore more conservative with their replacements – that visibly tired as the match went on. Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Emmanuel Meafou, and Anthony Jelonch were all particularly brutal in contact. 10