PARIS (AP) — France was overwhelmed with joy and relief after its extraordinary Six Nations title-clinching 48-46 victory over England on Saturday.
Joy for winning successive titles for the first time since 2006-07.
Relief after conceding 96 points and 14 tries in its last two matches, and still taking the championship.
When they finish celebrating their record eighth title in the Six Nations era, and their third under coach Fabien Galthié, their defensive fragility will not be toasted.
Sharp-shooting fullback Thomas Ramos sealed France's latest championship with a last-second penalty kick in a chaotic thriller at the Stade de France.
England scored seven of the game's 13 tries and had the bonus-point fourth by the 35th minute. Scotland also scored seven tries when it won 50-40 a week ago at Murrayfield to shatter France's Grand Slam march.
“It shows that we still have a bit of character in these moments, we will have to build on that,” Ramos said.
But he also noted all the points they conceded were a warning.
“We’re going to enjoy this victory, but for what comes next we’ll have to be honest with ourselves, because at this level you can’t concede 50 and or even more than 40 points,” Ramos said. “If we want to exist in major tournaments, with so many tries conceded, it won’t be with us.”
France defense coach Shaun Edwards wasn't overly concerned about the leaky defense. While he admitted the high scores were “frustrating” for coaches like him, they were commonplace.
“Rugby at the moment, particularly the Six Nations, is just phenomenal,” Edwards said. "I remember coaching a team in Wales who went five games without conceding one try and that’s impossible now. It is for the better of the game.”
France has never won the Rugby World Cup but was rebuilding a youthful side with the clear ambition of claiming its first world championship in Australia next year.
Flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert teared up after the final whistle. He acknowledged France sometimes lacked discipline and intensity but praised the team's fighting spirit.
“Even if everything wasn’t perfect, we gave everything we could,” Jalibert said. “That’s also the character of this team. Being able to grab a bonus point in Scotland when we were struggling, and being able to win tonight.”
Lock Thibaud Flament said they were “scared at times” and that a turning point was when England prop Ellis Genge was sin-binned for collapsing a maul at the end of the first half. France was awarded a penalty try and rallied from 27-17 down to lead 38-27 while Genge was in the sin-bin.
“It was a crazy match,” Flament said. “We knew the English would give everything. They’re a team that’s never out, and we saw that again today. We stayed united, it wasn’t easy. We gave everything, and it paid off in the end. Thomas (Ramos) was incredible, once again.”
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Louis Bielle‑Biarrey of France celebrates after Thomas Ramos kicked the winning penalty during the Six Nations rugby union match between France and England in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Thomas Ramos of France kicks the winning penalty during the Six Nations rugby union match between France and England in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The biggest challenge for Ludvig Aberg was finding satisfaction in a three-shot lead Saturday at The Players Championship instead of wondering how much larger it could have been.
Aberg had only two bogeys on his card all week and was four shots ahead of Michael Thorbjornsen when he stood in the fairway on the par-5 16th hole, 193 yards away with a 7-iron in his hand. He had an 8-foot birdie putt on the island-green 17th hole. He smashed his drive on the daunting 18th that set up a 25-foot birdie attempt.
Par. Par. Bogey.
Aberg still managed a 1-under 71 thanks largely to his third eagle of the week with an 18-foot putt on the par-5 11th. He was three shots clear of Michael Thorbjornsen, a rival in college and now a neighbor in the Ponte Vedra Beach area.
“Definitely would have loved to come out of 16 and 17 with at least one birdie, and then obviously the three-putt on 18 kind of stings, annoys me a little bit,” Aberg said. “But overall, I started the day with a two-shot lead and ended with a three, so that's a positive.”
If nothing else it was reminder nothing comes easily on the TPC Sawgrass even when it looks that way, and the final 18 holes isn't always a sprint to the finish.
“It's all about executing,” Aberg said. “You're going to get punished if you don't, which is a fun way to play golf.”
Fun?
Aberg smiled and mouthed the word, “Fun.”
Aberg was at 13-under 203 and will be in the final group with Thorbjornsen, who also took up shop at the TPC Sawgrass when he got out of college. They are friends who play often, just as they did as two of the most elite college players. Both were No. 1 in the PGA Tour University ranking in consecutive years to earn PGA Tour cards.
Thorbjornsen made up ground with a 67 to land in the final group as he tries to become only the third player — and first since Craig Perks in 2002 — to win The Players in his first try.
“I don’t think I have to change too much, especially on courses like this,” Thorbjornsen said. “I think if you play some really steady golf you’ll run into some birdies. Does anyone have a bogey-free round either yesterday or today? I’m not too sure, but there aren’t many. So I think slow and steady wins the race, and we’re just going to play some solid golf.”
Cameron Young was Aberg's biggest threat on the back nine, holing a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 13th and getting away with a wedge he hit a little heavy on the par-3 17th. It settled inside 2 feet away, the closest shot of the day.
“I was trying to land it 133 and I fatted it just a little bit and it went to a foot,” he said.
Two shots behind going to the 18th, the closing hole ate him up. Young tugged his drive just enough that it barely found the water down the left side. He pushed his third shot into the nasty, rough-covered moguls and chipped through the firm, fast green into a bunker. But he holed an 8-foot putt for double bogey and escaped with a 72 to leave him four shots behind.
“I cost myself two off the tee and I saved myself one with the putter,” he said of the 8-footer he made. “So it could have been worse. I drew a terrible lie right of the green, somewhere that it feels like you should have a decent chance to get up-and-down. Saved myself one with the putter is what I’m going to take away from it.”
Big blunders cost so many others.
Justin Thomas, looking strong in his second tournament back from lower back surgery in November, went from the water to the rough and then over the green in making a triple bogey on the sixth hole. His tee shot on the reachable par-4 12th found the water. But he kept it together, had a pair of birdies later and salvaged a 72.
Thomas was at 8-under 208, five shots behind along with Matt Fitzpatrick (69), Brian Harman (69), Viktor Hovland (69), Corey Conners (72) and Xander Schauffele (74).
Schauffele was in the final group and managed only one birdie while hitting just eight greens. Fitzpatrick made double bogey on the 18th with a three-putt from 35 feet.
Young is at The Players for the fourth time and has never cracked the top 50, and yet his optimism was running high even after a double bogey to finish. That he felt he was still in the game said more about the give-and-take nature of the TPC Sawgrass than Aberg.
Aberg shot a 63 in the second round to take the lead. Thomas shot a 62 last year. Harman shot 64 on Friday and the best score Saturday was a 65 by Robert MacIntyre.
“Those number are out there, and no reason why I can't be the one to shoot them," Young said.
And so the final group is a pair of locals — one from Sweden by way of Texas Tech, the other from just outside Boston by way of Stanford. Neither plays the Stadium Course all that much because it's rarely in the condition seen at The Players.
But they like the Stadium Course and know their way around, just not with so much at stake.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden reacts after missing a putt on the 17th green during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Xander Schauffele looks on on the 16th fairway during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Cameron Young reacts after a putt on the ninth green during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Michael Thorbjornsen watches his drive from the rough of the 18th fairway during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden looks on on the 16th hole during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden reacts after a birdie on the ninth green during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
