It was the longest match in Six Nations history when Damien Chouly bundled his way over the try line in the 99th minute, but France’s incredibly late victory over Wales on Saturday was anything but thrilling.

Chaotic, baffling, a shambles – these have all been used to try and explain what happened from the moment the clock struck 80 minutes and the ‘last play’ started, though instead it proved to be the start of 20 minutes extra time until the replacement flanker scored and fly-half Camille Lopez kicked the conversion to secure a 20-18 victory.

What we’ll try to do is break down what actually happened in those additional 20 minutes at the Stade de France, where allegations of biting and cheating, one yellow card when three seemed more appropriate and even the wrong try-scorer being announced all left the 80,000-plus in attendance and plenty more watching on television at a loss to explain what just happened.

It all started with a replacement. France, facing the prospect of a five-metre scrum, knew that they needed a converted try to win the match and salvage third place in the table. They also knew that they had Wales in all sorts of trouble in the front-row, while injuries had depleted the rest of the pack behind them to the point that captain Alun Wyn Jones was off, Jake Ball had joined him and replacement Luke Charteris was scrumming down next to No 8 Ross Moriarty in the second-row.

As you can imagine, it was far from ideal given the French pack has proven one of the strongest in world rugby this year, and yet they decided to make a highly controversial decision that led the Wales coach, Rob Howley, to "question the integrity of our game".

Uini Atonio, the French replacement tighthead prop, replaced Rabah Slimani in the 55th minute but come the end of the regulation 80 was breathing very heavily and looked to be struggling with the workload in the scrum, though the giant 24-stone La Rochelle forward was still enjoying the advantage in the scrum. A French doctor attempted to run on tend to Atonio, much to the bemusement of referee Wayne Barnes, and he was quickly dismissed.

How the madness unfolded 81:46 – Samson Lee sin-binned 86:00 – No play until scrum set, 6:31 left on the sin-bin 89:11 – North claims he’s been bitten to touch judge in clash with Dulin, Nakaitaci and Huget. 91:27 – Penalty to France. Barnes warns Warburton, 1:07 left on the sin-bin. Play stops. 92:21 – Lee and Leigh Halfpenny come back on 92:45 – Allegation of bite on North made to Barnes, clearly a mark on his arm. TMO review. 95:54 – Nothing found by TMO, scrum reset and play restarts. Chould eventually scores in the 99th minute, with Lopez converting. Match ends at 99:55. Total time: 14:08. Time with ball in play: 3:11

Barnes asked Atonio if he was injured, to which he answered “I have a sore back” but confirmed he was fine to continue. However, after the next collapsed scrum, the doctor appeared again, and demanded that Atonio go off the pitch for a Head Injury Assessment [HIA] which would result in Slimani, one of the best scrummaging props in the world, coming back on. How coincidental. That Atonio walked down the tunnel alone, without a medic for the HIA, did not go unnoticed.

Barnes smelt that something wasn’t right, but with a doctor telling him that Atonio needed to go off, Barnes had no option than to call for his replacement. That left Wales feeling particularly robbed, though both Howley and Jones stopped short of using the word cheat.

The confusion came just after Samson Lee had been sent to the sin-bin with 81:46 on the match clock. However, Barnes had not stopped the clock – he would not do so again until full-time – meaning that when play restarted, the clock was up to the 86th minute, and crucially Lee’s sin-bin was already down to 6:31 without a second being played. Barnes wasn't in the wrong to do this, given that on the face of things there is no need to stop the clock once the final play has started, but there's a flaw in this ruling in that time off for replacements, injuries and reviews wing down any sin-bin period, meaning Wales were not punished as they should've been. It's here where World Rugby need to clear up the ruling on time management by the officials, otherwise similar instances can and will occur.

Eventually, France were able to take the ball from the scrum and attack left, but with Rhys Webb penalised for hands in the ruck, Les Bleus knew they had a penalty advantage. But controversy would arise once more before play could resume. George North ended the play by tackling Brice Dulin, the French full-back, well behind the gain line. Both Yoann Huget and Noa Nakaitaci tried to clear out the Welsh wing, but the rest of the two sides were already jogging back to the other side of the field for the penalty. It’s here were North alleges that he was bitten, and he immediately makes his point clear to the touch judge before informing Barnes, who reviewed it with the Television Match Official [TMO], but replays were inconclusive.

Six Nations team of the weekend - round five Show all 15 1 /15 Six Nations team of the weekend - round five Six Nations team of the weekend - round five jared-payne1.jpg Returned from a serious kidney injury to run riot over England as he made hay from broken play, with one burst through the defence seeing the full-back surge into the English 22 and take two men to bring him down. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five noa-nakaitaci.jpg A broken field specialist, Nakaitaci revelled in open space as he made nearly 100m with the ball in hand against Wales. There’s still questions over his rugby ability, but for sheer athleticism, there’s not many backs better in the Six Nations. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five garry-ringrose1.jpg Played fantastically in the first half to help Ireland to a seven-point lead, and while he was not able to put himself on the highlight reel, it was his half-breaks and runs over the gainline that kept Ireland on the front foot. His best performance in a green jersey so far. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five alex-dunbar.jpg A powerful display as Dunbar repeatedly ran at Carlo Cana, rattling the Italian fly-half. Beat his man on four occasions as he ensured Italy were always in retreat, and is flourishing alongside Huw Jones. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five tim-visser.jpg Has taken full advantage of Sean Maitland’s absence and added another try this weekend, though they won’t come much easier as he had to dot the ball down when already over the try line. He looked threatening whenever he got the ball though and ran some impressive lines. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five finn-russell.jpg Can be incredibly exciting to watch and deserved his try that got Scotland rolling, but it’s his kicking – both at goal and from hand – that has been excellent in the absence of Greig Laidlaw. He has shown his talent with the ball in hand, has the ability to pull off the unexpected, and he might just be on the plane to New Zealand this summer if Warren Gatland wants three fly-halves. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five rhys-webb.jpg Impressed in Paris, despite the losing display. Put in a credible 20 tackles, second only to Justin Tipuric, and reacted well in the loose to make a handful of incisive runs. However, he needs to cut out the stupidity from his game, as he conceded a penalty in front of his own posts for a needless block. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five jack-mcgrath1.jpg Had the match of Dan Cole in the scrum which is no easy task, and was the dominant front-row when it came to carrying the ball, with the loosehead making a notable impact on the English defence. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five guilhem-guirado.jpg Withstood a persistent arm injury to have a strong influence in his sides thrilling and bizarre victory. Beat the tackler twice on his way to making more than 30m with the ball. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five tadhg-furlong1.jpg Had Joe Marler on toast that led to his early withdrawal at the break and put in an almighty defensive shift. The impact from his departure on the Irish scrum was noticeable. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five jonny-gray.jpg Without his brother, Richie, for the first time this championship, but that didn’t stop him from impressing both in the lineout and with the ball in hand. Didn’t have to do too much carrying as Italy wilted, but when he did he always went forwards to break the gain line. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five iain-henderson1.jpg The standout second-row in Dublin among a number of leading locks, which says a lot about his performance. Bagged the crucial try as he showed his clinical nous to ground the ball when England were napping. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five peter-omahony.jpg What a weekend he had. From Irish replacement to sudden Lions contender, as he tortured the English scrum and also stymied their attack with his defensive work. Brilliant in the breakdown as he was always a yard ahead of the English pack. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five kevin-gourdon.jpg Possibly the standout openside flanker of the entire tournament, and France appear to have uncovered a gem in Gourdon. Started like a house on fire and he surged into the Welsh 22, and was a constant nuisance in defence. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round five cj-stander1.jpg Moved at short notice to No 8 and did not let the change impact his game. Carried with his usual ferocious intensity and made a lung-busting 20 carries to sap the energy from the England defence. Getty Images

What the television footage did show though was that both Dulin and Huget were in a position where they could have made contact with North’s arm, which according to Barnes had evidence of a bite, while Howley added “there's evidence on George's arm to suggest something did happen”.

And still the clock ticked along, meaning Lee, who had been sin-binned in time added on, was able to return to the field and actually play another seven and a half minutes before the end of the match.

George North accused a French player of biting him on the arm (Getty)