While Ireland would not have come into Saturday’s fixtures with massive hopes of winning the Six Nations, the manner in which the championship was snatched from their grasp in Paris last night was sure to have stung.

Andy Farrell’s side did their job on the day, securing an impressive bonus point win over Scotland at the Aviva Stadium. They then needed England to get an unlikely win in Paris in order to finish top of the table.

Shockingly, Steve Borthwick’s men would come agonisingly close to doing so. They produced a brilliant performance at the Stade de France, leading as the clock ticked into the red.

Unfortunately from an Irish perspective, France would go on to score a penalty with the final play of the game to secure the Six Nations title.

France have beaten England 48-46 to win the Six Nations Championship as Ireland finish second in the standings. Here’s the final championship-deciding kick. pic.twitter.com/5AIUvqeYlI

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 14, 2026

That will be a difficult ending for the Ireland team to swallow, especially considering the role of one England player in handing the French the title.

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Henry Pollock makes costly Six Nations error

Henry Pollock has already become rugby’s biggest pantomime villain, with the 21-year old not exactly a popular figure among opposition supporters. That was the case in Paris, where the England player was booed continually after coming on in the second half.

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His reputation in Ireland would then take another blow after his late error cost the nation a potential championship.

With only a minute or so left in the game and England leading, Pollock would produce an impressive poach to turnover possession. However, instead of holding onto the ball, he would attempt a ridiculous offload to give possession back to the French.

There was less than a minute left in the game and Pollock throws a loose pass instead of going into contact. That’s how close we were. https://t.co/QkuuVaYx1E pic.twitter.com/Gb89bKGLYl

— Humble Leinster Supporters Club (@LeinsterClub) March 14, 2026

Speaking on RTÉ after the game, Stephen Ferris said that the error from Pollock cost Ireland the Six Nations title.

It was around the halfway line, Pollock got a rip on the ball and stole the ball. Instead of just putting the head down and taking it into contact, going two or three phases and kicking the ball out, the game would have been over, he went for a pass.

Him shushing the crowd after the try came back to bite him unfortunately and it cost Ireland the championship…

He’s the type of player where it doesn’t matter if it’s the first minute or the 80th minute, he’s going to try and run over somebody or score a try from his own tryline if he could.

You don’t want to take that out of a player either, but at the same time he’s got to understand the current situation that his team are in.

As Ferris points out, this error was rather ironic considering Pollock’s actions a few minutes earlier.

After England scored the try that looked as though it would win the game, the Northampton player celebrated wildly and baited the Parisian crowd with a shushing gesture.

Tommy Freeman has England back in the lead

📺 https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7
🖥️ https://t.co/Y5yeedg7vi #RTErugby pic.twitter.com/gYwfkfpoZb

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 14, 2026

Simon Zebo said those actions now looked ‘hilarious’ considering how the remainder of the game would play out.

The last moments, I know we had the classy moment of the kick, but the patience out of France to construct that penalty.

They weren’t really going anywhere, but they were disciplined with body height, securing the ruck, just gave themselves a chance…

The celebrations after this try were hilarious now that it is going to come back to bite them. They constructed this try really well, they had France under massive pressure…

France were out on their feet and had nowhere to go. They were waiting for England to show some ill-discipline and they did. That’s what clutch teams do and clutch kickers, they punish you for the slightest mistake.

This result is sure to sting both England and Ireland for the foreseeable future, although Andy Farrell will be thrilled with how his side finished the championship.

With some major doubts about the team’s direction over the last six months or so, the last few weeks were a timely reminder of the quality still present in this Irish team.

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