Emily Cooke in Six Nations action. Picture by SARAH WILLIAMS.THERE was bitter disappointment for England rugby stars Richard Hill and Emily Cooke across the Channel at the weekend in their Six Nations clashes with France.

England women's team were denied a second successive Six Nations crown when they suffered a narrow 13-12 defeat in Bourg-en-Bresse.

Salisbury's Emily Cooke featured prominently in the match, which was played in front of a partisan crowd of 7,000.

She said: "It was one of the biggest crowds I have played in front of. Of course it was overwhelmingly French. The atmosphere was awesome but I think, towards the end, some of the team were finding it overwhelming."

Tries by Nicky Crawford and Nicki Jupp had put England in the driving seat early on.

Head coach Geoff Richards said: "The whole team is bitterly disappointed. We played exceptionally well in the first half and dominated the French."

But a disallowed English try in the 56th minute turned the tide.

Cooke added: "The French were a different team in the second half. And once our try had been disallowed, they really had their tails up.

"We were getting tired and let some indiscipline creep into our game."

Richards added: "The second half saw some poor England decisions. The French lifted their work rate and their crowd really got behind them."

But Emily' did have one moment to savour.

The winger, best known for her blistering speed, made a powerful tackle, thwarting an almost inevitable French try.

"The crowd were on their feet certain she was going to score. It was very satisfying hearing them go quiet!" she said.

A late penalty dented any hopes of England making it five wins from five matches in this year's competition.

Later in the day, Richard Hill made his usual huge contribution to the men's team's performance at the Stade de France where England went down 24-21 despite a mighty comeback effort in a dramatic second half.