France face win-or-bust Six Nations duel with Scotland after England rout Wales
France faced a win-or-bust Six Nations showdown against Scotland in Paris on Saturday after England routed sorry Wales to send the title battle down to the wire.
England scored 10 tries in a record 68-14 bonus-point triumph in Cardiff to move top of the table with 20 points, four ahead of the French.
France must now defeat Scotland in the concluding game of the tournament to wrap up the title, their first since romping to the Grand Slam in 2022.
Ireland's hopes of wrapping up a third successive Six Nations ended despite defeating Italy 22-17 in Rome in the day's opening match.
"We've been building towards this, each game we've shown a different side to us, we're just happy to finish it well," said England captain Maro Itoje.
England had their match in Wales all but wrapped up at half-time after scoring five tries to lead 33-7 at the break.
Itoje opened the scoring as early as the third minute, with Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman, Chandler Cunningham-South and Will Stuart all following the skipper's lead.
Scrum-half Alex Mitchell, debutant Henry Pollock, with two of his own, Joe Heyes and Cunningham-South again added five more tries between them in the second half.
That allowed England to surpass their previous record Six Nations winning margin over Wales of 40 points set during a 50-10 success at Twickenham in 2006.
For Wales, their 17th successive Test defeat represented an unwanted record for a Tier One country in the professional era.
Their 11th straight championship loss meant they had finished with back-to-back wooden spoons for the first time.
"It was a tough game. We are gutted with the result but full credit to England, they were brilliant today and clinical when they had that ball," said Wales skipper Jac Morgan.
- 'Game-plan worked well' -
In Rome, Italy took the lead at the Stadio Olimpico through Monty Ioane's 12th-minute try but the Azzurri played more than half the match at least a man down after Michele Lamoro and Giacomo Nicotera were yellow-carded, while No 8 Ross Vintcent was shown a 20th-minute red card for a head-on-head challenge.
Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan scored a hat-trick of tries, with full-back Hugo Keenan also crossing Italy's line.
"Happy with five points, we probably needed a bit more points difference," Sheehan told ITV.
"Fair play to Italy, I thought their game-plan worked well and they put us under pressure."
Since being edged out 26-25 by England at Twickenham, France have been in commanding form.
Even the early loss through injury of captain Antoine Dupont in last weekend's 42-27 win over Ireland in Dublin failed to derail their progress.
Stand-in skipper Gregory Alldritt said Dupont's absence this weekend had "changed nothing" in terms of the team's overall approach.
"We're at the end of a Six Nations, the system has been in place since the start," Alldritt told reporters on Friday. "We've continued with what we've been working on for seven weeks."
The No 8 added: "We've progressed little by little. We've matured, become more consistent and I hope we'll prove that once again on Saturday night."
Scotland co-captain Finn Russell, who spent five years playing for Paris-based club Racing 92, is well aware of the task facing his side.
"They (France) have got everything to play for," said the fly-half. "Hopefully, we can disrupt it. I know it's going to be a massive challenge."
bur-jdg-dj/nr
Topics
-
France sweep to Six Nations title as England hand Wales record humiliation
France swept to the Six Nations title with a 35-16 victory over Scotland on Saturday, edging out bitter rivals England whose 68-14 rout of hapless Wales had sent the championship battle down to the ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
France overpower Scotland to win Six Nations title
France secured the Six Nations championship with a flourish - and quashed England's hopes - by ultimately overpowering a dogged Scotland in Paris.BBC News - 1d -
Ten-try England rout Wales but title bid falls short
England run in 10 tries to destroy woeful Wales in Cardiff, but see their hopes of Six Nations glory vanish as France beat Scotland to win the title.BBC News - 1d -
Ten-try England rout Wales but title bid falls short
England run in 10 tries to destroy woeful Wales in Cardiff, but see their hopes of Six Nations glory vanish as France beat Scotland to win the title.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
France win Six Nations title after Moefana’s double sinks Scotland
France 35-16 Scotland Bielle-Biarrey and Ramos also score tries in victory In the end, no arguments. England may have done all they could to put France under some pressure – and Scotland went on ...The Guardian - 1d -
Ruthless France beat Scotland to win Six Nations title
Watch highlights as France beat Scotland 35-16 to end England's title hopes and win the Six Nations title.BBC News - 1d -
France wins Six Nations after beating Scotland with record flourish
France saw off a resilient Scotland 35-16 and clinched the Six Nations title with a tournament-try record on Saturday. Coach Fabien Galthié's side needed only a victory at chilly Stade de France ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
The one big question facing each Six Nations side after captivating championship
France were worthy winners and England emerged as title contenders – but Scotland and Wales face more significant scrutinyYahoo Sports - 20h -
How Scotland could help England to win the Six Nations
France v Scotland - LIVEYahoo Sports - 1d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Antonio says he came 'close to dying' in car crash that left the West Ham striker with shattered leg
West Ham striker Michail Antonio is “100%” confident he will play again as he recovers from a car crash that left him with a “completely shattered” leg and a realization “how close I was to ...Yahoo Sports - 16m -
Updating LSU women's basketball's national title odds after NCAA Selection Sunday
Here's where LSU women's basketball stands in the latest national championship odds following the March Madness bracket revealYahoo Sports - 19m -
New Bears DE Dayo Odeyingbo discusses playing opposite Montez Sweat
New Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is excited to learn from Montez Sweat.Yahoo Sports - 19m -
Islanders Playoff Chase Update After Comeback Win vs. Panthers
ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders entered Sunday night's matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers six points back of the second wild-card spot with 18 games to go.Yahoo Sports - 22m -
🎥 All of the best bits from Newcastle's fantastic EFL Cup final win 🔥
Newcastle United ended English football's most infamous trophy drought, defeating Liverpool 2-1 to win the EFL Cup at Wembley on Sunday. And after a 70 year wait, you just knew the Toon Army would ...Yahoo Sports - 23m
More in Sports
-
Antonio says he came 'close to dying' in car crash that left the West Ham striker with shattered leg
West Ham striker Michail Antonio is “100%” confident he will play again as he recovers from a car crash that left him with a “completely shattered” leg and a realization “how close I was to ...Yahoo Sports - 16m -
Updating LSU women's basketball's national title odds after NCAA Selection Sunday
Here's where LSU women's basketball stands in the latest national championship odds following the March Madness bracket revealYahoo Sports - 19m -
New Bears DE Dayo Odeyingbo discusses playing opposite Montez Sweat
New Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is excited to learn from Montez Sweat.Yahoo Sports - 19m -
Islanders Playoff Chase Update After Comeback Win vs. Panthers
ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders entered Sunday night's matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers six points back of the second wild-card spot with 18 games to go.Yahoo Sports - 22m -
🎥 All of the best bits from Newcastle's fantastic EFL Cup final win 🔥
Newcastle United ended English football's most infamous trophy drought, defeating Liverpool 2-1 to win the EFL Cup at Wembley on Sunday. And after a 70 year wait, you just knew the Toon Army would ...Yahoo Sports - 23m