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 wire.

On a chilly night in Paris, France held their nerve to emerge champions for the first time since their Grand Slam-winning campaign of 2022.

Les Bleus, who were only 16-13 ahead at the break at the Stade de France, ran in four tries to secure a bonus-point victory and a one-point winning margin over England in the final standings.

Ireland's slender hopes of wrapping up a third successive Six Nations ended despite defeating Italy 22-17 in Rome in the day's opening match.

France full-back Thomas Ramos starred with 20 points to lead his team to victory, making light of the absence of iconic scrum-half Antoine Dupont who was injured in last week's victory in Ireland.

"We showed resilience in defence second half, when we only conceded three points," said France defence coach Shaun Edwards.

Ramos's haul included a try as part of a 19-point blitz in 20 minutes just after the interval........

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