France has often hosted its Guinness Six Nations matches in the stadium, which has a capacity of over 80,000, ever since it opened in 1998. Numerous memorable rugby matches have taken place in the Stade de France over the years. Rugby fans worldwide are called to book Six Nations 2024 tickets from our online platform ticketing. co. Rugby fans can book France Six Nations Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
On their territory, Les Bleus have completed four Grand Slams and engaged in a lot of other games that will live on in the annals of time. Here are some of France Six Nations victories at the Stade de France.
France 24-17 England in 1998
Les Bleus won on their first night at the stadium, defeating England on their way to completing back-to-back Grand Slams. After just 11 minutes, Philippe Bernat-Salles became the first player to score at the stadium, drawing a crowd of slightly more than 77,000 spectators to Saint-Denis.
The visitors were defeated by a try by Neil Back and four penalties from Paul Grayson, thanks to a further try by Christophe Dominici. A boot by Christophe Lamaison, and drop goals by Thomas Castaignède and Jean-Luc Sadourny. This proved to be the foundation for the successful opening of their new home.
France Vs England In 2002
Two years later, England exacted their revenge when they won their first-ever match at the Stade de France in 2000 thanks to five penalties scored by Jonny Wilkinson, which sent them to the Championship. France, however, got back to winning ways in Le Crunch, winning 20–15, a result that belied their dominance.
The most memorable aspect of it is Serge Betsen’s unrelenting pursuit of Wilkinson, which prevented the fly-half from having any chance to direct play as he frequently did against France. Due to scores from Gérald Merceron and Imanol Harinordoquy, Les Bleus rushed into a 17-0 lead in the first 20 minutes of play. However, a well-executed solo effort from Jason Robinson kept England in the game.
Nevertheless, France was always in charge and extended their victory to 20-10 until Ben Cohen’s last-minute try gave the visitors some breathing room. The Grand Slam dream was maintained with this victory, which was the first over England since the Stade de France’s inaugural match in 1998.
France 44-5 Ireland in 2002
Four weeks later, the dream would come true as France defeated Ireland 44-5 to win the first Grand Slam in the history of the Six Nations. Les Bleus easily won a record-breaking defeat of Ireland and achieved a third Grand Slam in six years thanks to two tries each from Serge Betsen and Nicolas Brusque.
The only Irish point on the scoreboard came from a try by Keith Wood, as Merceron’s boot continued to expand the lead. Aurélien Rougerie scored the other try. It’s not often that players get the chance to claim a Grand Slam at home, and when they do, it’s not always done so with the same flair as France in 2002.
France 24-21 England in 2004
It’s not often that France has the chance to complete a Grand Slam at home, but in just two years after their previous one, it would. This time, despite the visitors’ earlier loss to Ireland, it was the defending champions England that stood in the way. Both teams were still vying for the crown.
If the outcome was not as clear-cut as it was two years ago, it was still the same, with another Grand Slam party breaking out in Paris. Similar to the previous two years, France jumped out to an early lead and led 21-3 at the half, thanks to a try from Harinordoquy to go along with Dimitri Yachvili’s 19 points, which included a try of his right before halftime.
Ben Cohen and Josh Lewsey’s field goal with four minutes remaining gave England a scare, but the hosts held on to cap off an incredible evening. Rugby fans can book England Vs France Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
France 33-10 Ireland in 2010
That would take another six years after Les Bleus had swept everything in front of them four times in eight years. The 33-10 victory over Ireland a few weeks prior proved to be the most significant, however, Morgan Parra and François Trinh-Duc booted to a 12-10 victory over England at the Stade de France in the last match.
A decade later, Ireland was poised to change their only victory at the Stade de France, which came in 2000 by a score of 27 to 25. With players like Brian O’Driscoll and Ronan O’Gara leading them, Declan Kidney’s team came in as the reigning Grand Slam champions.
However, the past gave way to the future as France ended Irish ambitions of winning the tournament twice in a row and sparked their dreams with a commanding performance. William Servat and Yannick Jauzion’s first-half scores placed the hosts ahead, and on the hour, Clément Poitrenaud’s third try sealed the victory even though David Wallace scored for Ireland.
France 20-18 Wales in 2017
Although rugby matches aren’t supposed to last an hour, France made the most of their time and defeated Wales in a way that will never be forgotten. Les Bleus last defeated Warren Gatland’s team in the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final, shattering the hearts of the Welsh people. I had not seen that in almost six years.
Since then, Wales had been in control, winning a Grand Slam of their own in 2012, but in the most thrilling of circumstances, France at last achieved a long-overdue victory. The hosts had the ideal start thanks to an early Rémi Lamerat score, but Leigh Halfpenny’s consistency from the tee maintained Wales in the game and gave them a five-point advantage as the clock ran out.
As France laboured at the Welsh line, the clock had long since turned red. With only a few seconds remaining, Damien Chouly raced across, and Camille Lopez scored to complete the triumph.
France 25-13 England in 2022
The twelve years that France supporters had to wait for the upcoming Grand Slam must have seemed like a lifetime to those who thought the six years between the Grand Slams in 2004 and 2010 were a long time. As they say, “absence makes the soul grow fonder.”
Les Bleus’ decisive triumph over England in 2022 at the Stade de France provided ample proof of that. Les Bleus had won their ninth Slam. A minute before halftime, François Cros scored to put Fabien Galthié’s team in the driver’s seat. Gaël Fickou’s try in the 14th minute was the ideal approach to calm any worries in Paris.
Though there were moments of concern that England may spoil the fun after a try by Freddie Steward in the second half, captain Antoine Dupont’s score on the hour marked the end of the match and cemented France’s return to the top table.
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