France Télévisions, the country’s public-service broadcaster, drew an average of 5.6 million viewers for the national rugby union team’s final match in the protracted 2020 Six Nations competition.

The audience on the France 2 channel equated to a 22.4 per cent share as France ran out 35-27 winners over Ireland in Paris on Saturday night.

The number of viewers peaked at 6.3 million.

France 2 had pulled in 3.9 million viewers for the team’s 38-21 win over Wales in a warm-up on match on the previous weekend.

France ultimately finished second in the Six Nations behind England who were crowned champions after beating Italy 34-5 in Rome on Saturday afternoon in a game televised in the UK by commercial broadcaster ITV.

The final four matches of the competition had been held over to the northern hemisphere autumn after being called off in March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The BBC, the UK's public-service broadcaster, attracted an average of 3.8 million viewers, a share of 32.2 per cent, and a peak of 4.9 million, for Scotland's 14-10 win over Wales in Llanelli on Saturday afternoon, which went out on BBC One.

It later averaged 3.5 million viewers, an 18.2 per cent share, and a peak of 6.2 million for the France vs Ireland game, which kicked off on BBC Two, but moved to the main channel for the second half.

Sportcal