France won the Six Nations for the first time in 12 years after beating England 25-13 to complete the Grand Slam on Saturday.
The triumph was achieved in the febrile atmosphere of the Stade de France, the venue in northern Paris where the French will look to win sport’s ultimate prize next year: the Rugby World Cup.
Fireworks and ticker-tape exploded as France captain Antoine Dupont — the world player of 2021 — lifted the Six Nations trophy in front of his celebrating teammates in the middle of the field.
Will it be the Webb Ellis Cup next?
“We are lucky to have a fantastic group of players,” France manager Raphael Ibanez said.
“I would recommend they keep their feet on the ground. It’s a major step for our team but there is more to come. We can still improve our game.”
France scored three tries, none more important than the final one scored in the 61st minute by Dupont that pushed his team back into a 12-point lead after England reduced the gap to 18-13 following a fast start to the second half.
It eased the pressure on the French in the final quarter as they clinched their first piece of rugby silverware since the Six Nations in 2010 to the backdrop of the home fans singing La Marseillaise.
It was a sixth title of the Six Nations era (since 2000) for France, and a record-tying fourth Grand Slam in that period.
And it marked the next step in France’s evolution under coach Fabien Galthie, who took over after the 2019 Rugby World Cup and led the team to second-place finishes in the last two Six Nations.
The previous decade was marked by several humiliating finishes in the Northern Hemisphere championship — there was even a wooden spoon in 2013 — but French rugby has come together in the Galthie era, with clubs and the national team finally on the same page and the public reconnected with Les Tricolores.
With the likes of Dupont and No 8 Gregory Alldritt now bona fide superstars, France claimed a big win over the All Blacks in November that inevitably foisted the favourites tag on Galthie’s team heading into the Six Nations. They embraced it, handling the pressure against England to finish a point above Ireland.
England fail to ease Eddie Jones plight
The English ended in third place, an improvement on last year’s fifth but one unlikely to ease the pressure on coach Eddie Jones after a second straight championship in which they lost three games.
It is, though, probably a fair measure of where England is amid a transitional phase under Jones.
“I know we’ve got the team for it,” England captain Courtney Lawes said. “We just need to be more clinical.”
But this night was all about France.
A spectacular, spine-tingling prematch light show had the Stade de France illuminated in red, white and blue, setting the stage for a huge match to judge the progress of the next World Cup host.
They rose to the challenge.
With remarkable ruck speed and a feisty defence — orchestrated somewhat chasteningly by an English coach, Shaun Edwards — that created five turnovers, France produced a strong first-half display to lay the platform for victory.
Fullback Melvyn Jaminet had already kicked a penalty by the time Romain Ntamack sent a miss-pass over to the right wing where Gael Fickou collected the ball and raced over in the corner for a 15th-minute try.
While finding parity at the line-out, England was being dominated at the scrum and its attack was limited, resorting to getting most joy from high kicks fielded by Freddie Steward, a tall fullback playing as a winger.
A couple of penalties by Marcus Smith kept the English in touch but a converted try by flanker Francois Cros off the last attack of the first half opened up a 12-point gap — at 18-6 — that the visitors never looked like closing.
It was another clinic in quick phases, marshalled by Dupont, that ended with Ntamack bursting through a gap to almost reach the line before Cros picked up and stretched out a hand through a mass of bodies to ground.
England made the French work for the title, producing a barnstorming start to the second half that culminated in Steward finishing off a well-worked move in the right corner for what proved to be the team’s only try.
But Dupont ensured there would be no late nerves, running on to Alldritt’s pop-up pass and handing off England hooker Jamie George before accelerating away from Ben Youngs to score beside the posts.
Jaminet’s conversion took him to 10 points for the match and France wouldn’t be stopped, with the French fans in a crowd of 79,000 staying back long after the final whistle to hail their team.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Profile of Bitex UAE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile%20
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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THREE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
