ENGLAND won the battle but lost the war as they beat France in an extra- ordinary Six Nations finale but fell six points short of the 26-point victory margin they needed to deny Ireland a second successive title.

After 80 unforgettable minutes, England were hammering the French line in search of one more converted try that would have given them the championship but could not quite complete the job in one of the most remarkable Tests seen at Twickenham.

After Ireland's victory over Scotland, England needed to win by a margin they had managed only once in a century of matches against France and it looked an impossible task after France led 15-7 midway through the first half.

Stuart Lancaster's side surged back, however, with score after score to keep their hopes alive, although France, playing their best rugby of the campaign, refused to lie down. When the whistle finally sounded England were left second in the standings for the fourth year in a row and France fourth, in the bottom half of the table for the fourth successive season.

"I'm gutted really," Lancaster said. "It was one of the most courageous performances I've seen. It was an unbelievable game of rugby. The first two France tries hurt us. But to come back like we did - it will go down as one of the great games of rugby."

"I said to the boys that's one of the most courageous performances I've seen from a team.

"Credit to Ireland for winning the championship, they beat us and congratulations to Joe (Schmidt) and all his team."

Scrum-half Ben Youngs was named man of the match after scoring two of England's seven tries. "We really gave it a crack but after all the hard work and endeavour we showed you can't let them back in game," Youngs said. "We started really well and positively but we gave away a couple of loose tries. We knew the French would tire as we saw that in previous games, but we gave ourselves too much to do in the end."

An afternoon of high drama ebbed and flowed across the three staggered kicks-offs, beginning in Rome and sweeping to Edinburgh before a chaotic climax at Twickenham. The home fans dared to dream as they celebrated Youngs' try after just 95 seconds and watched giddily as France were repeatedly over-run in an opening that bristled with attacking intent.

Opportunist tries from Sebastien Tillous-Borde and Noa Nak- aitaci that had their origins in English handling errors, appeared to have swept the title out of reach, but they were opening shots in a hair-raising showdown that at times defied logic.

It finished with massed ranks of white shirts mounting one final assault on the French line in search of the Championship-winning converted try, only for the whistle of referee Nigel Owens to award France a penalty with seconds left.

The clinical touch that had been missing against Scotland was evident inside the opening two minutes as Jonathan Joseph, Mike Brown and Ford linked before Youngs arrived to fall over the line.

England's ambition then proved their downfall as they leaked two tries in four minutes, one when a Youngs pass flew through the hands of Courtney Lawes and fell to an unmarked Tillous-Borde and the other when Haskell gifted possession to Scott Spedding, who launched a counter-attack that led to Nakaitaci touching down.

Gael Plisson's neck whiplashed backwards from a ferocious tackle by Lawes and shortly after French reprisals over the challenge had ceased, George Ford was able to land a penalty.

A converted try followed after Youngs had weaved his way his way into space before giving the final pass to Watson, nudging England back in front on the half-hour mark. And the lead grew to nine points following a roller-coaster passage of play that began with a quick throw-in from Ford to Joseph and ended with Youngs running in his second try after Mike Brown had taken a quick penalty

Owens reacted to a scuffle behind the posts with a warning to captains Chris Robshaw and Thierry Dusautoir that the behaviour was "unacceptable".

Ford finished the first half with a penalty - England now led 27-15 - but then kicked out on the full after play resumed to invite the pressure that led to France's third try.

Blue shirts pounded at the line until hooker Guilhem Guirado expertly slipped a pass out of the tackle for Maxime Mermoz to touch down. The match continued its unpredictable path as the electrifying Youngs exploited a gap around the breakdown and raced clear until Ford arrived in support to finish the chance.

The title edged farther towards Dublin when substitute Rory Kockott rifled over a penalty, but England's response of a try through Jack Nowell after Lawes had won a critical turnover was evidence of their unwillingness to give up hope.

Haskell did his team no favours, however, when he flicked out a leg to trip Plisson and was sent to the sin-bin.

Poor defending on the right wing allowed France to plunder their fourth try, Nakaitaci escaping before finding loosehead prop Vincent Debaty of all people in support.

The benches were emptied as the final quarter mark passed with Danny Cipriani among the new arrivals, slotting in at full-back, but it was starting No 8 Billy Vunipola who drove over next with help from brother Mako.

The next twist saw France substitute hooker Benjamin Kayser burrow across the line, only for Nowell to switch on the afterburners to renew English hopes before the frenzied finale.

Leading 55-35, England now needed just one converted try and when they kicked a penalty for touch they had the platform they needed.

A scrum penalty against France cranked up the tension to unbearable proportions, but a final drive was penalised inches short of the line and the dream was over.

England: Brown, Watson, Joseph, Burrell, Nowell, Ford, B. Youngs, Marler, Hartley, Cole, Parling, Lawes, Haskell, Robshaw, B. Vunipola. Replacements: Cipriani for Watson (63),

Twelvetrees for Burrell (73), Wigglesworth for B. Youngs (73), M. Vunipola for Marler (63), T. Youngs for Hartley (53), Brookes for Cole (63), Easter for Parling (68), Wood for Haskell (68). Sin Bin: Haskell (57).

France: Spedding, Huget, Fickou, Mermoz, Nakaitaci, Plisson, Tillous-Borde, Debaty, Guirado, Mas, Flanquart, Maestri, Dusautoir, Le Roux, Goujon. eplacements: Bastareaud for Mermoz (73), Tales for Plisson (73), Kockott for Tillous-Borde (48), Kayser for Guirado (47), Atonio for Mas (47), Chouly for Goujon (63).

Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia).

Attendance: 82,319