HERE’S A curious stat for you. In the professional age, every Six Nations championship following a Lions tour has been won by the French. In 1998 they clinched the Grand Slam while the home nations were still basking in the glory of beating the Springboks the previous summer; four years later France repeated the feat nine months after the Lions trip Down Under. A clean sweep eluded Les Bleus in 2006 – a shock 20-16 defeat to Scotland on the opening weekend their only reverse in winning the title) but in 2010 France had another Grand Slam to celebrate.
