WEEKEND SPORTS DIGEST
RUGBY UNION
Ramos’ last kick of the tournament shatters England dreams — and Ireland’s title hopes — in the greatest Six Nations ever played
France 48–46 England (Stade de France, Paris) — Saturday, 14 March
Thomas Ramos nailed a long-range penalty with the clock in the red to settle a 13-try thriller which England looked to have won when Tommy Freeman crossed in the 76th minute. It was the last act of a tournament that will be talked about for years.
The match was an extraordinary spectacle. Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored two tries in each half, and Ollie Chessum bagged a double — the second a stunning intercept — as the lead changed hands repeatedly. England had recovered from two early Bielle-Biarrey scores to dominate the first half. They led by 10 points at one stage, but a late penalty try coupled with the sin-binning of Ellis Genge saw it shaved to 27-24 at the interval.
France made their man advantage count early in the second half, Bielle-Biarrey completing his hat-trick before Attissogbe extended the lead. England hit back: Chessum’s brilliantly timed interception sent him galloping home from inside his own half, then Marcus Smith marked his introduction with a wonderfully taken try on his 50th cap, converting to make it 39-38. Bielle-Biarrey’s fourth try stung England again, but when France prop Demba Bamba was sin-binned they pounced for the seventh time through Freeman — and for a few seconds England led, Ireland watched from Dublin, and the title pointed elsewhere. Then Ramos stepped up and split the posts with the final kick of the 2026 Six Nations.
The defeat consigned Steve Borthwick’s side to their worst ever championship finish with just one win through the tournament, which came on the opening weekend against Wales. Bielle-Biarrey took his tally to 29 tries in just 27 Tests and finished the campaign with nine for the tournament, breaking his own record from last season.
Italy make history in Rome to send England into freefall
Italy 23–18 England (Stadio Olimpico, Rome) — Saturday, 7 March
The week’s drama began seven days earlier in Rome with a defeat that shook English rugby to its core. Italy made history at the Stadio Olimpico, defeating England for the first time in 33 meetings as Leonardo Marin’s 72nd-minute try completed a remarkable comeback to seal a famous 23-18 victory.
England looked on course to return to winning ways after first-half tries from Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck, along with two second-half penalties from Fin Smith. But two sin-binnings proved fatal — Sam Underhill yellow-carded for a high tackle, then Maro Itoje following him for cynically slapping the ball down in a maul, leaving England briefly down to 13 men. Italy seized the moment: with Itoje still off the field, a brilliant cross-field move involving Monty Ioane sent Marin over for the decisive try. Paolo Garbisi was a perfect five from five off the tee throughout.
Six Nations — Final Standings, 2026
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PD | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France 🏆 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | +81 | 5 | 21 |
| 2 | Ireland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | +38 | 3 | 19 |
| 3 | Scotland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 4 | 16 |
| 4 | Italy | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −38 | 1 | 9 |
| 5 |  England | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | +2 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Wales | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −82 | 2 | 6 |
France champions for the second successive year. England finish fifth — their worst ever Six Nations campaign.
Harlequins Women beaten in Loughborough as play-off race tightens
Loughborough Lightning 43–33 Harlequins Women (cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens) — Friday, 13 March
Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya returned to action after being stranded in Dubai as Loughborough Lightning beat Harlequins Women 43-33 in Premiership Women’s Rugby. Kildunne scored the opening try for Harlequins, but Lightning fought back strongly. Bo Westcombe-Evans starred with a hat-trick to help secure the win, ending Lightning’s five-game losing run. Harlequins remain fourth in the table, but it is a third successive defeat for Ross Chisholm’s side and with the play-off cut-off increasingly congested, every remaining fixture now matters enormously.
Harlequins Men had no Premiership fixture this week — the Gallagher Premiership resumes with Harlequins hosting Gloucester on 21 March.
FOOTBALL
Chelsea humiliated by PSG as European dream dissolves at Parc des Princes
Paris Saint-Germain 5–2 Chelsea (Parc des Princes) — Wednesday, 11 March — UEFA Champions League, Round of 16 first leg
Paris Saint-Germain scored three goals in the final 20 minutes as the holders overwhelmed Chelsea 5-2 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Vitinha capitalised on an error from Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jørgensen to put PSG ahead for the third time on the night in the 74th minute. Substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then added two more, including a sensational curling strike into the top corner, in the dying minutes to put PSG firmly in control ahead of the second leg.
Chelsea had been competitive for long stretches. Bradley Barcola opened the scoring, but Malo Gusto drew Chelsea level with his first European goal for the club, in the country of his birth. PSG restored their lead through Ousmane Dembélé before the interval. Chelsea equalised again early in the second half through Enzo Fernández’s fine finish following excellent work from Pedro Neto. Then Jørgensen’s unfortunate error gifted Vitinha the third and Kvaratskhelia’s late brace ended Chelsea’s hopes of keeping the tie alive. The second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday requires Chelsea to overturn a three-goal deficit against the European champions.
Gordon’s sucker punch completes nightmare week for Chelsea
Chelsea 0–1 Newcastle United (Stamford Bridge) — Saturday, 14 March
Despite dominating possession and digging out countless half-chances, Chelsea never really planted their flag in the race for the Champions League. The sloppiness that allowed PSG to score five past them crept in again: Anthony Gordon’s 18th-minute goal — latching onto Joe Willock’s run through Chelsea’s defence — was ultimately the difference. James’s late free-kick and a João Pedro header both went agonisingly close, but Newcastle held firm. Chelsea remain sixth on 48 points, three behind Aston Villa in the race for the top four.
Premier League — as of Sunday, 15 March 2026
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | W | D | L | GD | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 31 | 70 | 21 | 7 | 3 | +39 | DWWWW |
| 2 | Man City | 30 | 61 | 18 | 7 | 5 | +32 | WWDWW |
| 3 | Man United | 30 | 54 | 15 | 9 | 6 | +13 | DWWWL |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 51 | 15 | 6 | 9 | +3 | WDLLW |
| … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| 6 |  Chelsea |
30 | 48 | 13 | 9 | 8 | +18 | WLLWL |
| … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| 11 |  Fulham |
30 | 41 | 12 | 5 | 13 | −3 | LWWLD |
Fulham Women demolish Chesham to extend their lead at the top
Chesham United 0–6 Fulham Women (The Meadow, Chesham) — Sunday, 15 March — FA WNL Division One South-East
Fulham Women made it another week of emphatic FA WNL Division One South-East football, routing bottom-of-the-table Chesham United 6-0 at The Meadow to extend their lead at the summit to four points. The comprehensive margin — Fulham’s biggest away win of the season — underlines a run of form that has seen them go unbeaten through all 18 league matches. With goal difference now at +42 and just four games of the regular season remaining, promotion is firmly in Fulham’s hands. Goalscorers were not confirmed at the time of writing.
FA WNL Division One South-East — as of Sunday, 15 March 2026
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | W | D | L | GD | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulham | 18 | 50 | 16 | 2 | 0 | +42 | WWWWW |
| 2 | Norwich City | 18 | 46 | 15 | 1 | 2 | +39 | … |
| 3 | London Bees | 17 | 32 | 10 | 2 | 5 | +17 | … |
| … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| 12 | Chesham United | 18 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15 | −59 | … |
Fulham unbeaten in 18 league matches, four points clear at the top with four games remaining.
Fulham hold firm at Forest in hard-fought point
Nottingham Forest 0–0 Fulham (City Ground) — Sunday, 15 March
Forest tried to take the initiative, spurred on by their home crowd and looking to create danger especially down the wings. Fulham’s defence remained very solid throughout, closing down spaces and preventing the home side from fashioning clear-cut scoring opportunities. Marco Silva’s men ground out a professional away point. Fulham remain 11th on 41 points with eight games to play.
Wimbledon hit four to fuel unlikely play-off push, then lose ground at Stevenage
AFC Wimbledon 4–1 Blackpool (Cherry Red Records Stadium) — Wednesday, 11 March
AFC Wimbledon boosted their slim hopes of a League One play-off spot with a commanding 4-1 win against relegation-threatened Blackpool at the Cherry Red Records Stadium. Ryan Johnson headed Steve Seddon’s sublime corner past Bailey Peacock-Farrell on 11 minutes. Matty Stevens converted a penalty on 54 minutes, before Zack Nelson and Omar Bugiel rounded off the scoring deep in stoppage time.
Stevenage 1–0 AFC Wimbledon (Lamex Stadium) — Saturday, 14 March
The midweek euphoria evaporated three days later. Jamie Reid’s fifth goal in eight matches — a 10th-minute penalty — put Stevenage ahead and they were relatively untroubled as they closed out a tight 1-0 success. Wimbledon dominated possession and peppered the Stevenage box in a fruitless second half, their play-off push now requiring a strong finish to the season with 10 games remaining.
League One — as of Saturday, 14 March 2026 <
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | W | D | L | GD | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City | 37 | 80 | 24 | 8 | 5 | +37 | WWWWW |
| 2 | Cardiff City | 37 | 76 | 23 | 7 | 7 | +34 | LWLDW |
| 3 | Bolton | 37 | 65 | 17 | 14 | 6 | +17 | DDWWD |
| … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … |
| 13 |  AFC Wimbledon | 36 | 49 | 14 | 7 | 15 | −4 | WWDWL |
Lincoln City lead on 80 points with Cardiff City second. AFC Wimbledon 13th, eight points off the play-off places with 10 games remaining.
STORY OF THE WEEK
The 2026 Six Nations will be talked about for years. Italy defeating England in Rome for the first time in 33 meetings on 7 March, then France 48-46 England in the most extraordinary title-deciding finale the tournament has ever produced — 13 tries, the lead changing hands six times, England in front with minutes to go, and a last-gasp Ramos penalty deciding everything. England finish fifth, their worst positioning since the championship expanded to six nations in 2000. It has been a campaign to forget in every sense except the final night in Paris, which was the best kind of extraordinary.
