A 55-35 defeat by England at Twickenham was the third of another wretched campaign in which they also lost to Wales and Ireland to finish fourth.
That followed finishes of fourth, sixth and fourth in Saint-Andre's previous three campaigns after taking over from Marc Lievremont following France's narrow defeat in the 2011 World Cup final by New Zealand.
Any hopes French fans had for an end to Lievremont's constant tinkering soon evaporated as Saint-Andre seemed unable to decide on any settled combinations.
His dithering was summed up by the fact that the halfbacks on duty against England, Sebastien Tillous-Borde and Jules Plisson, were his 16th starting combination in 37 tests.
Typically, once France's slim title hopes had been obliterated by Wales's victory in Italy, they suddenly rediscovered the attacking verve that makes them such a dangerous animal when cornered.
Unfortunately for Saint-Andre, a defence that had let in only two tries in their previous four games also had a change of character as England ran in seven en route to their highest-ever tally against their cross-channel rivals.
"We were Father Christmas for the first try," Saint-Andre said of Ben Youngs's score after 90 seconds.
"We also missed 15 points in kicking and it's difficult to win at Twickenham when you do this.
"Overall it was an amazing game, fantastic, but at this high level you have to score when you get chances.
"We failed to score from our spells of domination. There was even a moment when we should have led by 11 points and it would have been a different game.
"It's a pity but that's the way it is. We'll work until the World Cup to be able to fight for 80 minutes."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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