Les Bleus, the pre-tournament favourites after their eye-catching displays in the November internationals, won their 15th title despite suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Scotland in their tournament opener.

A week later Laporte's men followed up with a patchy performance against Ireland who they eventually beat 43-31 despite leading 43-3 into the second half.

Their questionable form continued against Italy when the French needed over an hour to overcome their rivals but they were more comfortable in condemning England to a 31-6 defeat.

Laporte's side then overcame a spirited Wales outfit 21-16 in Cardiff before waiting until the end of the England v Ireland match to be confirmed as RBS 6 Nations champions.

''We wanted to win, it's now done,'' said Laporte.

''The tournament is positive overall although some things worked better than others.

''The good points are that we scored a lot of tries, that we showed our motivation to play well, to create in the game and hold on to our possession.

''However in terms of our kicking game, our defence and on the touch line, we were not always consistent.''

Laporte also admitted his surprise at England's display in their encounter against Ireland but is convinced Andy Robinson's men will soon recover.

''It is amazing to see the English at such a low level,'' he said.

''Two or three of their key players did not play well and the whole team collapsed. When I see a guy like Ben Cohen who made two big mistakes giving two tries to Ireland, I feel 'this is crazy'.

''They surely are struggling at the moment but they will bounce back. I am not worried for them.''