England completed the Grand Slam with a 38-33 victory over France at Twickenham but was saved by the bell in front of a world-record crowd of 58,498.

Initially rising to the occasion of setting an attendance record for the women’s game, surpassing the 42,579 seen for last autumn’s World Cup final in Auckland, the Red Roses ran amok to build a 33-0 interval lead.

A fifth successive TikTok Women’s Six Nations looked certain, but France was reborn for the second half and dominated 33-5, only to run out of time, as England collapsed in dramatic fashion.

It remained a triumphant sendoff for outgoing England head coach Simon Middleton, with the strongest rivalry in the Championship producing another compelling instalment.

France was the last side to beat England in the Six Nations – five years ago – and they started the game like they finished it, though without the rewards.

It took resolute defending, including an important penalty won on the ground by Hannah Botterman, to deny them early on, but the pressure was halted when England pounced against the run of play.

Footwork and power swept Helena Rowland through the midfield, before quick ball gave Abby Dow sight of the line with the right wing’s pace doing the rest.

Rowland’s center partner Tatyana Heard was the next to swat away blue shirts, and when she eventually was halted, Marlie Packer used her strength to crash over.

🎥 The story of our 2023 @Womens6Nations#RedRoses | #TikTokW6N pic.twitter.com/SMrranhof1

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) April 30, 2023

France’s defense was creaking, and fly-half Jessy Tremouliere was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, ushering in a damaging spell that saw Alex Matthews cross and a penalty try awarded against Rose Bernadou.

Bernadou followed Tremouliere into the sin-bin, and England continued to canter seemingly out of sight, as Zoe Aldcroft touched down.

However, having regrouped at halftime, France full-back Emilie Boulard went over in the 48th minute through a slick attacking play, and when Gabrielle Vernier produced a smart dummy and sidestep before speeding over, the Red Roses’ nerves began to fray.

They settled when Lark Davies dived over once England’s pack had reasserted itself, but the visitors continued to fight with tries by Charlotte Escudero, Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet, falling narrowly short of the target needed.