Sticking with Eddie Jones will leave others to savour champagne moments

Just occasionally in sport the scoreboard becomes a side issue. For everyone in Paris on Saturday night, particularly those from across the Channel, what will really stick in the mind is the overriding post-match mood of genuine Gallic excitement. As France’s euphoric supporters celebrated their team’s deserved grand slam it was hard not to envisage many more champagne moments ahead.

It was also a tantalising amuse bouche for what awaits when France host next year’s World Cup. Gazing into the future is never an exact science but Les Bleus appear to have an impressive number of bases covered. A young team, with rare talents such as Virimi Vakatawa, Charles Ollivon, Matthieu Jalibert and Teddy Thomas striving just to make the wider squad, has the potential to achieve special things and the entire country is uniting proudly behind them.

Formidable is one word for it, particularly with their imported guru Shaun Edwards on hand to keep everyone grounded. Did you know Edwards has now won more grand slams over the past 15 years than England, Scotland, Ireland and Italy combined? Which is another uncomfortable fact for the Rugby Football Union’s grandees to reflect upon as they rake over the lukewarm leftovers of another dispiriting campaign under Eddie Jones.

To say England are on a road to nowhere with Jones in charge is merely to restate the increasingly obvious. To insist otherwise is to be as stubbornly in denial as Jones himself seems. “I’ve never been as excited about this team,” he insisted on Sunday. “I think we’re in a really positive situation.” The only people still buying this low-grade, self-serving fertiliser seem to be certain high-ranking individuals within the RFU whose own judgment is now under scrutiny.

Becau