Wandering around the Stade de France two hours before kick-off, an England fan stopped to give his take to the BBC Sport live text.
His one-word answer to sum up England’s Six Nations campaign was as accurate as Thomas Ramos’ boot: “Confusing”.
A 48-46 defeat, settled by a France penalty with the clock in the red, only adds to the riddle.
It was a ridiculous game of rugby, somehow trumping Scotland’s 50-40 victory over France last weekend, with jeopardy, controversy and an ending that took everyone in the Stade de France to the edge of their seat and their wit’s end.
Ninety-four points, 13 tries, five lead changes, two yellow cards and a few hundred storylines.
Trying to pick out clear answers amid the fog of war and trophy-lift pyro isn’t easy.
First, foremost and fundamentally, England were vastly improved. The disjointed defeats by Scotland, Ireland and Italy are admittedly a low bar, but England’s intensity and accuracy was back.
The attack snapped into shape, asking awkward questions out wide, kicking with intelligence and offering punch though the middle.
Tommy Freeman enjoyed his best game at centre for England, making smart decisions, running incisive lines and connecting well with his wings.
The forwards took the fight to France with relish, thumping into contact, scuttling several scrums and making the driving maul a weapon against a heavier pack.
Ollie Chessum, brought in for his heft, delivered in spades, scoring two tries, laying on a deft pass for Alex Coles’ score and clanging about in close combat. Captain Maro Itoje was the best he has been in this tournament, as tough to shift as week-old chewing gum over the breakdown.
They took an absurdly gifted, if fallible France team to the very last second and backed up their endorsements of head coach Steve Borthwick in interviews, with actions on the pitch.
“England were blistering – their pace, their skill, their intensity, their physicality and they had a genuine chance of winning,” said former England scrum-half Matt Dawson on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I feel for the players because they are going to be down, but I want them to be super, super positive because if they carry on playing like that for the next 18 months they are going to challenge in big tournaments and big games, and they are going to win big games.”
And yet. When the adrenaline levels drop, questions will also be raised.
Should England have made victory stick?
With the restart regathered by Chessum, the ball safely at the base, Sam Underhill, Henry Pollock and Chandler Cunningham-South on their feet as a potential pod, and only two minutes left on the clock, could England have kept ball in hand and run down the clock?
Instead, Jack van Poortvliet, who had brought some zip off the bench, opted to kick the ball away and infield. Matthieu Jalibert, a broken-field fiend, accepted the invite to run back and England were back under the pump.
Closing out victories was a repeated failing in a series of close defeats in autumn 2024. It is a habit that England don’t want to reacquire.
One they definitely haven’t kicked yet is indiscipline. Only one of the 162 team campaigns in Six Nations history – Italy 2002 – has picked up more cards than England have this year.
Eight yellows, two of which combined to make Henry Arundell’s 20-minute red against Scotland, have hobbled England throughout.
Ellis Genge was dispatched to the sin-bin seat of shame in Paris, adjudged to have cynically dragged down a France driving maul that was destined for the line.
It may have been a marginal call, but, backed up to their own line, England knew the stakes were high and the punishment for any infringement would be heavy.
France raced back into the lead in the prop’s absence.
More broadly, considering England’s campaign as a whole, the wild form fluctuations are most flummoxing.
The post-tournament debrief needs to root out the reason behind such tame showings in defeat by Scotland, Ireland and Italy.
A return of one win from their campaign – the worst in England’s Six Nations history – is too glaring to be obscured by their highlights from the City of Lights.
The next Rugby World Cup will feature a last-16 knockout stage. England, currently seeded to take on Italy at that point, will need to walk a four-match tightrope between the pool stages and the biggest prize.
They cannot afford the brain fades and off-days that have come in this tournament if they are to compete. Consistency is a pre-requisite.
“It has taken time to get the relationships in the team,” said Borthwick afterwards.
“I am very clear on the direction of the team, we wanted to achieve more in the tournament, clearly, but we will make sure we do that going forwards.”
Forwards and upwards.
South Africa, at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park – 1,753m above sea level – is England’s next, imposing task.
For England’s fans and suits, the thin air may offer a bit more clarity on their team and its future.
