Courtney Lawes insists England are ready to feed off the emotion of a Paris crowd willing France to win the Grand Slam as he heaps pressure on the hosts.
England are aiming to ease the scrutiny of their under-fire head coach Eddie Jones by preventing Antoine Dupont’s favourites from claiming a first Championship title for 12 years.
Defeats by Scotland and Ireland limit their ambitions to finishing third, although if they are toppled at the Stade de France and results elsewhere on ‘Super Saturday’ go against them they will be staring at another disastrous fifth place.
Even without the title in their sights the stakes are high and not least for Jones, who will face renewed questions over his future just 18 months out from the World Cup should they end up in the bottom half of the table again.
But Lawes insists his team are ready to continue fighting for each other knowing they can play without the burden of expectation.
“It’s a very hostile crowd at the Stade de France and you have to be prepared for that,” England’s captain said.
“It’s part and parcel of playing away from home on the international stage, especially against a team going for the Grand Slam. That’s absolutely fine for us. We can use it for motivation and use it to give us energy.
“You have to change the mentality of the crowd. It was similar at Murrayfield where we were getting booed on the way in. You have got to prove these people wrong and essentially try to make them quiet.
“France are still playing to win the Championship, so essentially all the pressure is on them. We’ve got a game plan in place that we think is going to be very effective.
“For us, the power of playing for each other is the best motivation you can have as a rugby player. It’s the most consistent motivation, anyway.
“It’s perfect for us to go out there and show what it actually means to be part of this group and be able to play for England with boys like this.”
Needing to replenish depleted energy reserves after the monumental resistance displayed with 14 men against Ireland in round four, the squad have experienced a lighter training load this week.
It is hoped the adjustment, negotiated by Lawes on behalf of the squad, will enable them to carry the fight against France.
“We spoke to Eddie as a leadership group on Monday morning and just made sure he realised what an emotional hit it is to play a game where you have to give absolutely everything you’ve got,” Lawes said.
“We want to go out in the right way, we want to go out and perform this weekend. To do that you need to make sure you recharge, emotionally and mentally as well as physically.
“Eddie put a plan together, I put it across to the boys, we made a couple of tweaks and were off to the races. We’re really happy with how it went and hopefully it will bode well for us.
“To get back up emotionally after a game like Ireland actually takes a lot. If we were knocking each other about all through the week it’s going to be a lot harder to get up there emotionally for the weekend.
“In years gone by there wouldn’t have been that communication. It shows that we’re developing as a team and Eddie’s developing as a coach.
“We can all get our heads together and find the right plan, rather than just being told where to go. It’s a really effective way of being a team.”
