France player ratings: Antoine Dupont and Gael Fickou lead from the front in Six Nations win over England
Following their 25-13 victory over England in their Six Nations finale at the Stade de France on Saturday, here’s the player ratings for France.
15 Melvyn Jaminet: Magnificent in the air. Dealt with England’s aerial bombardment and kicked his goals. 8/10
14 Damian Penaud: Played a key role in the decisive third try and did some good things around the field, but not his most influential performance. 7
13 Gael Fickou: Scored a try and was outstanding defensively. Made a couple of breakdown turnovers and is becoming one of the world’s best centres. 9
12 Jonathan Danty: Quieter than against Wales as England marshalled him pretty well both in attack and defence. 6
11 Gabin Villiere: Some excellent interventions throughout. Didn’t get his usual breakdown turnover but threatening in attack and a brilliant read to stop Freddie Steward from going over late on. 8
10 Romain Ntamack: His best performance of the championship, although still not quite there yet. It’s almost scary that the French are playing this well without one of their key playmakers firing. 7
9 Antoine Dupont: Utterly majestic. It’s been, by his high standards, a mixed Six Nations, but he was outstanding in the finale. Just perfect. 10
8 Gregory Alldritt: Another wonderful display from the number eight, with his off-load for Dupont’s try a highlight. 8
7 Anthony Jelonch: Bone-crunching hits and a menace at the breakdown. 8
6 Francois Cros: See Jelonch. Just stopped England in their tracks. The Red Rose did some good things – arguably their best display of the championship – but Cros rounded off a superb back-row effort. 8
5 Paul Willemse: Brutal in both set-piece and close quarters. Hits hard, carries hard and will probably hit the beers hard tonight as well. 8
4 Cameron Woki: Still adapting to the front five role but this was much better from Woki. Lineout was smoother this week and he also contributed more with ball in hand. 7
3 Uini Atonio: Solid in the set-piece and obviously offers power around the field but it is probably France’s weakest position. 6
2 Julien Marchand: Didn’t have the influence at the breakdown he usually has but was very solid in all facets. 7
1 Cyril Baille: Some good carries and solid in the set-piece. 7
Replacements: Romain Taofifenua was ubiquitous but, other than that, the replacements struggled to make an impact. England were threatening a comeback late on and they only just about stemmed the tide of momentum. 6
READ MORE: France fend off England to seal Grand Slam in front of raucous Paris crowd
