England vs. France: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Six Nations Round 5

England beat France at Twickenham on Saturday but fell just short of winning the 2015 Six Nations title, as their 55-35 win came just six points shy of the necessary target. Instead, Ireland repeat as champions thanks to their 40-10 win over Scotland at Murrayfield.

The final match of Round 5 was filled with drama until the final whistle, the perfect ending to an extraordinary day of rugby that ultimately culminated in heartbreak for the English. The hosts came very close to winning the title, but key mental errors at the worst possible times allowed France to do just enough to hand Ireland this year's Six Nations. 

Following Ireland's 40-10 win over Scotland, England knew they needed to beat the French by at least 26 points to win the title, via BBC Sport's Phil McNulty:

Paddy Power was more in favour of Ireland repeating as champions and wanted to give the visitors a little extra incentive:

England knew what was needed and came out of the gate firing, taking advantage of a poor pass in midfield to put the first try on the board after just two minutes. Ben Youngs was the man to touch down, and George Ford kicked the extra to give the hosts the early lead.

They continued pushing and were awarded a penalty just inside the French half after a dominant scrum. Ford's kick had the distance, but he pulled it just wide to the right. France took over the ball and started building some momentum after a poor start, as fly-half Jules Plisson suddenly found his groove.

Ford was caught holding the ball for too long, allowing Plisson to put France on the board as well. ITV News' Alastair Stewart noticed the team looked a bit too anxious and was starting to make dumb mistakes:

Things got even worse three minutes later. England won a line-out deep in French territory, but Sebastien Tillous-Borde jumped on a loose ball before racing the distance of the pitch and touching down untouched.

Suddenly, England started to crumble. James Haskell tried to offload but played a poor ball, Les Bleus worked it deep into the English half and Noa Nakaitaci eventually touched it down just before his foot stepped over the dead ball line. Twickenham did not agree with the decision to award the try, to say the least:

Rugby star Toby Flood thought the shock deficit was just about in line with the identity of the English team:

As Rugby World Magazine's Paul Morgan noted, England were suddenly dropping down the standings instead of battling for this year's title:

Everything was going France's way, and Plisson missed a makeable penalty to put the visitors up by even more.

There was a bit of a scuffle after Courtney Lawes unleashed a devastating tackle on Plisson, which looked a lot worse than it was in slow motion, and some of the French forwards were none too happy with the hit. In the midst of it all, England were given another penalty, and Ford pulled the hosts back to within five.

Lawes' ferocious hit:

Plisson eventually got up and played on, but he badly hooked his first penalty attempt after the hit. On the other end of the pitch, Anthony Watson touched down after the ball took a number of odd bounces from knees and ankles, but the officials confirmed the try after a lengthy review.

Ford's conversion meant England still had to find 24 points somewhere, and the push forward continued. Jonathan Joseph put together a phenomenal run to hand Youngs his second try, and England prop Alex Corbisiero started to believe:

The final points of the half once again came off the boot of Ford, who converted a long penalty to signal half-time. The Times' Owen Slot was thoroughly enjoying himself:

France had no intention of rolling over and gifting England the title, and a fantastic attacking move brought the lead back down to five early in the second half. A series of passes eventually saw the ball come to Maxime Mermoz, who dove between the poles to score.

As has so often been the case this tournament, Youngs and Ford powered England and came up big when they were needed the most. The former fed the ball to the latter to restore the 12-point gap, but Twickenham sounded nervous as ever. Former cricketer Simon Jones was buzzing:

A penalty for hands in the scrum gave France three more points, with Rory Kockott now kicking, but Jack Nowell took advantage of Les Bleus' tiring defence to put another try on the board in the left corner.

But just as things were looking up for England, disaster struck. Haskell, whose inconsistency has held the hosts back all tournament, tripped Plisson and was sin-binned, to the dismay of the London crowd. BBC's Andrew Cotter knew the Wasps star was in for some abuse on social media after that blunder:

France took full advantage, as Vincent Debaty cut the deficit back to 11. But England refused to give up, even down a man, and Billy Vunipola powered forward to bring the hosts within eight points of the title.

Danny Care couldn't believe what he was seeing and wished he was playing himself:

The seesaw battle continued, with Benjamin Kayser touching down for the French just before Haskell was allowed to return to the pitch. Brian O'Driscoll likely echoed how every Ireland fan felt watching the spectacle:

BBC's Greg James joined in on the action:

With six minutes left on the clock, Nowell punched the ball in after a fantastic delay from Ford, pushing England's lead to 20 points, with 26 needed. A great kick saw the action move deep into the French half, and the match received exactly the kind of finish it deserved. England pounced with everything they had, moving the ball left and right as France desperately attempted to stand their ground.

Eventually, the ball went to the ground and a penalty was awarded to France, ending the match. Twickenham fell silent, the Irish fans still inside Murrayfield exploded and all off Ireland could finally breathe again. As shared by Bleacher Report UK, neutral fans were the big winners on Saturday:

Youngs was understandably upset, having come so close to the title, as he told BBC Sport:

"I don't really know what to say. I'm devastated.

First of all congratulations to Ireland. From our point of view, we're devastated. We gave it a crack, but you can't let them get back in the game."

After a thrilling final day of Six Nations action, it looks safe to say the rugby giants in the Northern Hemisphere are ready to turn the 2015 World Cup into a spectacle. South Africa and New Zealand will be the favourites, and rightly so, but the margins just behind the top two are razor thin.

Ireland's discipline ultimately beat England's youthful enthusiasm, but if the hosts of this year's World Cup can rid themselves of the mental lapses, the future looks incredibly bright for this explosive side.

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