France has won its first Six Nations Grand Slam title since 2004 after narrowly beating England 12-10. After a bright start from England Saturday, France gradually took control and three penalties from Morgan Parra put coach Marc Lievremont's team 12-7 up at halftime against Martin Johnson's team. Fullback Ben Foden scored a try for England early in the first half, moments after flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc's drop goal put the French 3-0 ahead. Flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson came off the bench and soon kicked England within three points of France to ensure a nervous last 10 minutes at Stade de France. Ireland's earlier lost to Scotland. Ireland needed to beat Scotland by a healthy margin at Croke Park to have any chance of overhauling France at the top of the standings but was unable to convert large amounts of possession and territory into points. Ireland fought back from 17-10 down to twice level the scores but Dan Parks kicked his fifth penalty with two minutes left to give Scotland a 23-20 victory. Scotland finishes in fifth place and Italy is last. In Cardiff, Wales earlier scored three second-half tries to end the Six Nations with a morale-boosting 33-10 win over Italy also Saturday. Stephen Jones kicked four first-half penalties at Millennium Stadium before James Hook touched down twice against an increasingly ill-disciplined Italian side. Shane Williams then got his ninth try in eight games against Italy as Jones finished with 18 points in a flawless kicking performance. Wales clinched fourth place in the standings despite ending the tournament without a first-half try in any of its five matches. Stormers move into second Fullback Joe Pietersen scored 13 points to help the Stormers beat the Cheetahs 21-8 in an all-South African Super 14 match at Newlands Saturday. A fifth win in six matches lifted the Stormers to second in the table above the Canterbury Crusaders and a point behind the Bulls who have a game in hand. Sharks beat Highlanders South Africa's Sharks posted their first win of the Super 14 rugby season in its sixth round Saturday, beating the Otago Highlanders 30-16. Hooker Bismarck du Plessis, winger Stefan Terblanche and center Adrian Jacobs scored tries for the Sharks, while halfback Ruan Pienaar kicked three conversions and four penalties. Crusaders beat Lions Flyhalf Colin Slade stepped into the boots of All Blacks star Dan Carter and kicked 21 points as the Canterbury Crusaders beat South Africa's Lions 46-19 in a Super 14 rugby match in Christchurch. Bulls grind out 5th win The Northern Bulls were forced to return to a traditional forward game as they ground out a 19-18 win over the Wellington Hurricanes in a Super 14 Southern Hemisphere match at Loftus Versfeld in South Africa Friday. The Bulls stayed on top of the table with their fifth successive win. New Zealand unbeaten Series leader New Zealand scored five tries in the first seven minutes Saturday to beat Argentina 47-7 and remain unbeaten at the Adelaide Sevens rugby tournament. The win put New Zealand into Sunday's quarterfinals along with second-place Argentina from its group. South Africa, the defending Adelaide champion, played to a 12-12 draw with Samoa, allowing both teams to qualify for the quarterfinals. Fiji beat Kenya 21-7, advancing Wales and Fiji to the quarterfinals. Australia was unbeaten after a 17-12 win over England, which allowed the Americans to qualify for the quarterfinals. The US had an upset win over England Friday.
