Six Nations 2026: Will anybody deny flowing France a Grand Slam?

In some ways the success Les Bleus enjoyed in Cardiff was nothing special; Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa were all on Steve Tandy’s side for half a century in the autumn.

The home side felt their performance was decent and certainly better than England’s first-round knock, but they were still overwhelmed in all departments.

France scored their first try after 88 seconds and made it three points in the opening 15 minutes; 20-year-old center Fabien Brau-Boirie scored on his debut and electric wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored his 23rd try in 24 international competitions.

Bielle-Biarrey’s fellow winger Theo Attissogbe, who replaced France’s all-time leading goalscorer Damian Penaud, scored twice in the second half as the visitors claimed their biggest Six Nations victory in the Welsh capital.

They could have achieved even more with the attack of Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert, who broke 28 lines, defeated 31 defenders, recorded 1,136 carry meters and 24 clearances.

Instead, their final try came from second-placed Charles Ollivon in the 60th minute.

“When you play a team like this you have to be good at everything,” former England, British and Ireland Lions captain Martin Johnson said on BBC One.

“France had no worries because they knew they would win, they knew they were very good.

“They’re all so comfortable on the ball. When they were confident and there wasn’t any danger, I was thinking, ‘Thank God I’m not on that pitch.’

“It’s very hard to get them under control when they’re so confident and don’t feel like anything could go wrong for them.”