France face England on Saturday night with a chance to clinch a record eighth Six Nations title, after last week’s defeat to Scotland ended their hopes of a Grand Slam.
Head coach Fabien Galthié urged his players to move past the loss and focus on the final match of the championship at the Stade de France.
"The players believe in their individual and collective abilities and are legitimately ambitious," Galthié said on Friday. "England are not living up to their expectations but they are still formidable. We're all focused on this moment of truth."
Defeat would leave England with their worst campaign in the tournament since the Six Nations began in 2000.
Strong start
France opened their title defence with a 36-14 thrashing of Ireland in Paris on 5 February.
Just over a week later they beat Wales 54-12 in Cardiff, taking control of the competition between Europe’s six leading rugby union sides.
France gritted their way past Italy 33-8 on 22 February in Lille, northern France, to maintain their grip on the championship.
But last week at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, their hopes of a fifth Six Nations Grand Slam disintegrated when Scotland produced a devastating second-half display to surge from 19-14 to 47-14.
The match for the Auld Alliance Trophy ended 50-40, leaving the 2026 title race wide open.
"There was a lot of talk about the Grand Slam," added Galthié. "But it's a bit like belittling our opponents. You have to respect all opponents."
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Title still possible
France will win the championship if they beat England.
If they draw or lose, the victor of Saturday afternoon's clash between Ireland and Scotland will pip them to the title.
Second-placed Scotland go into their game at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with a chance to win the Six Nations trophy for the first time.
"Winning the title is out of our hands, really," Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said. "We can only do a certain amount. It would be great to finish the championship with a win and finish on a high."
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said his team must be ready for a strong Scotland performance.
"Scotland were outstanding last week against France," Farrell said. "And we’ve been preparing for another Scottish performance like that. Obviously, the title is out of our hands, but there is something that’s in our hands."
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Wales under pressure
In Saturday’s other match, bottom-placed Wales host Italy in Cardiff. The Welsh will be attempting to avoid a fifth straight defeat of the campaign.
"We need to go up another level," Wales head coach Steve Tandy said on the Welsh Rugby Union website.
"We’ve had some really good performances. I think there were parts in the games against France and Scotland where I thought we were very good.
Last week against Ireland we stepped up to the plate physically. Now it’s putting it all together and creating our best performance this weekend."
