England completed a hat-trick of Women’s Six Nations Grand Slams as they hammered France 42-21 to claim what is also their sixth straight title.

John Mitchell’s charges faced the unbeaten French side in the final round of the tournament but put on a show, scoring six tries in front of a full house of 28,000 fans in Bordeaux.

Maud Muir, Alex Matthews, Megan Jones, Marlie Packer and Amy Cokayne all grabbed first-half scores for the Red Roses, with Matthews scoring a second in the last 40 minutes.

Gabrielle Vernier and Marine Menager (2) both scored for the hosts, who were unable to cope with England’s pressure following a red card to Assia Khalfaoui.

The Red Roses led from the moment prop Muir charged over in the fourth minute and they went on to score six tries.

France suffered the setback of losing Khalfaoui to a yellow card for a dangerous clear-out of Morwenna Talling, with the offence upgraded to red on review.

It meant they had to complete the last 37 minutes of the Stade Chaban-Delmas showdown with only 14 players, yet they still played their best rugby in a second half that finished 7-7.

England have now won the Grand Slam for the last three years and their winning run in the tournament stands at 29 games, with their last defeat coming against France in 2018.

As expected, France provided the toughest test of the Six Nations, forcing the Red Roses to grind it out at times, having blazed their way through the competition until this point.

England had to work far harder for their tries than in the previous four rounds – they ran in 14 against Ireland alone – but there were also flashes of the attacking enterprise introduced by head coach Mitchell.

England captain Packer praised her side for facing down a hostile home crowd at Stade Chaban-Delmas.

-Planet Rugby