It is not every season that England can boast a more impressive Test record in France than their Gallic hosts. Six wins and a one‑point defeat in seven World Cup games on French soil within the past seven months is not the worst of springboards into the final weekend of Six Nations games, particularly as Les Bleus have failed to secure a victory in any of their last three outings at home.
Not since 1999, when the Five Nations was still in existence, have France gone through an entire championship without a single home victory, which may explain the lack of experimentation in their unchanged match-day 23 for this weekend’s fixture. The subtext is clear enough: France are taking this game seriously even if this particular version of Le Crunch is not as era-defining as some of its predecessors.
Suddenly it also feels an age since the last fixture between these two sides at Twickenham a year ago. France did not just beat England: they walloped them so thoroughly that the 53-10 scoreline might have been even worse. It cannot always be a vintage year, in rugby as in wine-making, and Les Bleus served up some distinctly rough old plonk in the opening three rounds.
There was a hint of something better in Cardiff, though, albeit against an underpowered Welsh team who found a number of first-half holes in the French defence. Which leaves England with a tactical choice. Do they set aside last weekend’s Twickenham exuberance and avoid the jouez, jouez – play, play – style of contest that might suit their hosts or do they try, as far as possible, to serve up more of the same fizzing special cuvée?
The largely same-again nature of the red rose team sheet would suggest the latter and why not? France’s forwards are such massive individual units that logic dictates they need to be moved around. Get dragged into a slugfest and France’s behemoths will definitely lap it up; require their front five to do slightly more running and there is the potential for some defensive cavities to reappear.
The retention of George Furbank, consequently, is again intended to inject extra gas from full-back, although Steve Borthwick has resisted any temptation to lob the No 10 jersey to Marcus Smith from the outset. Good teams still need someone to navigate them around the field and wresting the controls away from George Ford after the Ireland success would also have diluted the selectorial cohesion the management wants to build.
It also gives England some genuine bench impact, with Smith, Danny Care and Alex Dombrandt again being invited to dip into their shared Harlequins box of tricks and Manu Tuilagi back involved for the first time in the championship. England will miss the precocious ability of the unavailable Immanuel Feyi-Waboso but Tuilagi brings his own unique brand of thunder.
With several French suitors looking to employ him next season, this could be Tuilagi’s last hurrah in an England jersey; it is also an opportunity to remind all involved what he can still do. It does not require a doctorate in physics to suggest this will involve a fair degree of force but Borthwick also wants his side to play smart as they seek ways to counter France’s own power and pace. “Tactically we want to make sure we are on the money with what we do so that then we limit their opportunities,” he said.
There is a sense France have a point or two to prove after scraping a draw at home to Italy in Lille and underperforming against Ireland in Marseille. “Test match rugby is a physical challenge,” Borthwick said. “And the two teams that probably pose the biggest physical challenge right now are South Africa and France. We know that’s coming on Saturday night, we’ve been preparing for it and I look forward to seeing this next step of our team.”
On the English side there is also the motivation of last year’s Twickenham wipeout. “I was very open at that point in time about where England were … we were a long way behind those top teams in the world,” Borthwick said. “Their tactical kicking game, the breakdown and the power they have are all applicable for this game. I talk a lot about learning and the team continually trying to learn from every experience.”
The head coach has been around long enough – “We’ve got to pose different questions to France than we posed Ireland last week” – to know that England cannot simply rely on what worked well last week. For the team’s future development it is also important last Saturday’s Irish upturn is not a one-off and that, mentally, they do not shrink back into themselves. “It is a continuing message for this team,” Borthwick said. “We can either be the victim of a mistake or choose to continue to play the way we play. At Murrayfield we dwelt on mistakes and that led to more mistakes. It is a mindset I am trying to change.”
