England beats France 26-25 and shakes up Six Nations title race

LONDON (AP) — Fin Smith's match-winning conversion of the last-gasp try he set up lifted England over Six Nations title favorite France 26-25 in a Twickenham thriller on Saturday.

The score changed three times in the last 10 minutes of a frenetic match.

England led for the first time in the match in the 70th through replacement prop Fin Baxter's try. Smith converted for 19-18, taking over the goalkicking from Marcus Smith, who badly pulled his last two goalkicks.

Five minutes later, France retook the lead after Antoine Dupont and Damian Penaud counterattacked from deep to give Louis Bielle-Biarrey his second try of the match. France led 25-19.

Then England forced a lineout in France territory, mauled it, and Fin Smith fed replacment wing Elliot Daly in a huge gap to charge over beside the posts in the 79th. Fin Smith's conversion completed a remarkable fightback.

Falling to Ireland in Dublin last week meant England dropped six of its last seven matches. This was England's first big win since last year's Six Nations when it beat Ireland. Since then, England has drawn deserved criticism for blowing winning positions in the last quarter.

It finally finished the job with a bonus-point four tries against France and has joined the title race with Scotland visiting next in two weeks.

“We have lost plenty of games and luckily this one went our way today,” Fin Smith said. “It was far from perfect but that group fought for it.”

Giving flyhalf Fin Smith his first test start was a bold call by coach Steve Borthwick. His seven previous caps totaled 122 minutes of test rugby. But he's better at sparking a backline than Marcus Smith, whose maverick brilliance was trusted at fullback.

The bench also delivered, notably former captain Jamie George, Ollie Chessum, and Daly, who was recalled for his first test in a year.

After a shaky first half, Fin Smith grew into the game like England did and was named man of the match.

“I felt like a rabbit in the headlights in the first half,” he said. “But I found my feet in the end. This is cool for a first start.”

France has just started a three-match road trip that goes to Italy next, then defending champion Ireland. This setback was harder to digest for France because it should have buried England by halftime despite wet conditions underfoot.

France shelled so many try-scoring passes that not even captain Dupont was immune.

"We got the oopsies, didn't we?" France defense coach Shaun Edwards said. “Every time we got near the try-line we seemed to just drop the ball. I've never seen that happen before. The French lads are normally magnificent handlers of a rugby ball.”

It took 30 minutes to get Bielle-Biarrey over, only for England to hit straight back in a sign of things to come. Somehow, despite a dropped pass behind Tom Curry and Fin Smith spilling the ball, England got it to midfielder Ollie Lawrence to score and make it 7-7 by halftime.

Thomas Ramos penalties made it 13-7 and England should have gone ahead in the 58th when, in the same movement, winger Tommy Freeman caught Fin Smith's restart then caught his cross-field chip to score. But Marcus Smith bombed the conversion.

Bielle-Biarrey came off his wing to give Penaud his 37th test try, one short of France's record held by Serge Blanco. France led 18-12 going into the last quarter, and Nolann Le Garrec was sent in, moving Dupont from scrumhalf to flyhalf. But Dupont was who England targeted in a lineout peel for the Baxter try that launched the madcap last 10 minutes.

“We were brave — that's the foundation of what we want to be doing going forward,” Maro Itoje said after his first win as England captain.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

France's Damian Penaud drops the ball during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

France's Antoine Dupont runs with the ball during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

England's Tommy Freeman, center, breaks the tackle of France's Antoine Dupont to score a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

France's Damian Penaud, center, drops the ball challenged by England's Henry Slade, left, and Alex Mitchell during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

France's Louis Bielle-Biarrey offloads in the tackle during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

England's Elliot Daly scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

England's Tommy Freeman, center, celebrates after Elliot Daly scored a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

England's Elliot Daly scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

England's Elliot Daly scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in London, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Denmark provided U.S. forces in the east Atlantic with support last week as they intercepted an oil tanker for violations of U.S. sanctions, a Danish government official confirmed on Tuesday, despite tensions between the allies over the Trump administration’s desire for control of Greenland.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to provide details about what the support entailed.

But acknowledgement of Danish support for the U.S. operation comes after tensions spiraled between the NATO allies as President Donald Trump renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland. The vast Arctic island is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

The U.S. interception in the Atlantic capped a weekslong pursuit of the tanker that began in the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. imposed a blockade in the waters of Venezuela aimed at capturing sanctioned vessels coming in and out of the South American country.

The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Danish support for the U.S. operation was first reported by Newsmax.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday at the White House to discuss Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not yet been formally announced.

Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said earlier Tuesday that Vance would host a meeting with him and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, in Washington this week.

Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting of the Danish parliament’s foreign policy committee that Vance had expressed a wish to take part and that he will host the meeting at the White House, with Rubio in attendance. Neither the White House nor Vance’s office responded immediately to emails and text messages seeking comment.

Løkke Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, has been foreign minister since 2022 in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

At a joint news conference with Frederiksen in Copenhagen on Tuesday, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated that Greenland isn’t for sale, Danish media reported. He said that the island is part of the kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland doesn’t want to be owned or ruled by the U.S.

Frederiksen also said Greenland isn’t for sale and underlined Denmark’s willingness to invest in Arctic security. She said it hasn’t been easy to stand up to unacceptable pressure from a close ally and there are many indications that the most difficult part lies ahead.

Tensions have grown this month as Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire Greenland. Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would, in comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

He said he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”

A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen for meetings on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to show unity between the United States and Denmark.

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Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a briefing at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)