Six Nations 2015: Super Saturday attracts record viewers as England vs France attracts peak audience of 9.63m

A record final day in the Six Nations saw Ireland crowned 2015 champions

Chris Robshaw reacts to missing out on the Six Nations championship (Getty Images)

A record number of tries, a record number of points and a record victory for England. On the face of things, it’s no surprise that a record number of people tuned in to watch England’s thrilling 55-35 victory over France on the most dramatic final day’s in Six Nations history.

Nearly 10 million viewers watched England come within inches of clinching a famous Six Nations championship victory, only to fall at the final hurdle as they failed to build the 26-point gap needed over France to pip Ireland to the title.

While Ireland celebrated their success at Murrayfield having powered past Scotland 40-10 a few hours earlier, England were left to consider what could have been had they converted a late chance which saw a 14-man maul collapse on the French try line, only for Les Blues to come out with possession.

Regardless, the aptly named Super Saturday delivered 27 tries and 221 points across the three games, the most ever seen on the final day of the championship, and the BBC have confirmed that the unprecedented drama was reflected in their record-breaking viewing figures.

A peak audience of 9.63m watched England v France, which kicked off at 5pm on Saturday, while Italy v Wales peaked at 4.1m and Scotland v Ireland hit a hit of 5.1m.

The BBC’s website also recorded its highest ever traffic on a single day as the 8.22m unique UK browsers trumped the previous record of 8.03m set during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Ben Youngs celebrates scoring a try with his England team-mates (Getty Images)

Barbara Slater, Director BBC Sport, said: "It's what the BBC is all about, bringing these great moments that unite the nation, making them available to everyone wherever they are.

"What an amazing end to such a thrilling Six Nations championship, and duly reflected in such a huge audience figure of 9.63 million on BBC One, with millions more accessing content through radio, online and digital platforms."