France coach Marc Lievremont hailed his side's pragmatism after they ground out a gritty 12-10 win over England to seal a first Six Nations Grand Slam in six years.
The French rebounded from an early converted try by Ben Foden with a Francois Trinh-Duc drop-goal and three Morgan Parra penalties to snatch victory from an England side that came right back into the game at the end.
When replacement Jonny Wilkinson hit a penalty with 15 minutes to play, the disciplined French, led magnificently by captain Thierry Dusautoir, battened down the hatches and rebuffed English attempts at a further score.
The victory was Lievremont's first over England in three efforts.
"It is a very nice baby even if the birth was quite difficult," he said.
"For the first time we have reached the end of a series or a tournament and I can be satisfied. We have a Grand Slam to celebrate.
"I would have preferred us to take more control of the match and to have more of a spectacle, but the essential was to win," Lievremont admitted.
"In this match, we left (the panache) to the English, as we did in the second-half to the Welsh," who fought back from a 20-0 half-time deficit to eventually lose 26-20, he said.
"But we were pragmatic. As for a spectacle, we did produce some during the five matches. It is five victories and a Grand Slam but we have to pay tribute to the England team. It was very difficult and they played their best against us.
"I was extremely relieved at the end of match." Dusautoir, who formed an impressive back-row formation with No 8 Imanol Harinordoquy and Julien Bonnaire, said his team had deserved the Grand Slam.
"Despite the weather conditions, we won this game and beat England with a lot at stake," he said.
"Honestly, I think we were better than England.
"But we had to search for something else to win, more pragmatism.
"In the rain, and with all that pressure, we reacted well. For once, the English did not beat us. We can be very proud with the end of the match."
Harinordoquy admitted there had been nerves at the death, when the French lacked any attacking resolve and were more than happy to kick away possession to the dangerous English back three.
"We were very scared at the end in case it turned out the same as in other failures," said the Biarritz player, who was winning his third Grand Slam.
"England have always been there to bar the way for great moments. They had announced that they were there to ruin the party."
Harinordoquy called the victory "superb", and made even better by a massive downpour that largely disrupted an expansive game.
He added that the group of players Lievremont had assembled were beginning to gel just in time for next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
"This group of players is going well. There are some guys who've not been here for long, but we're working on our continuity. We haven't known only good moments, there have been tough losses to swallow.
"But little by little, we've built ourselves a collective confidence."
Lievremont became only the fourth person to win a Grand Slam as player and coach, following in the footsteps of compatriots Jean-Claude Skrela and Jacques Fouroux, and Englishman Clive Woodward.
But he refused to acknowledge the accolade.
"I'm not here to write my personal history," he said. "I am above all very happy for my players."
.jpg)
