England out to break French hearts

Any ambitions England may have harboured with regard to 2022 Six Nations title were shattered by a spirited performance by the Irish who knocked over their old foes 32-15 at Twickenham.  

However, there is still much for Eddie Jones’ charges to play for as they will test themselves against arguably the world’s best team this weekend at the Stade de France. 

England suffered the misfortune of losing second-row Charlie Ewels when the was not even two minutes old after a clash of heads between the latter and Ireland’s James Ryan. After Ewels took his leave, it would have reasonable to suspect that Ireland might run away with the game, however, England rolled up their sleeves and did remarkably well to keep a hold on the game until Ireland flourished at the end. 

“We showed great spirit, great tactical discipline. We got to about 15 to go and it was 15-all, we’re controlling the game and we just made a couple of mistakes that allowed them into the game,” Jones said. 

“But it’s a great learning experience for this team, I couldn’t be prouder of them. They are a young team but the older guys like Courtney [Lawes] and [Ellis] Genge, Jamie George led brilliantly. 

“The youngers guys adapted really well and they’ll learn a lot from that. I see that as a foundation game for us. The spirit, the determination, the ability to work through problems – absolutely outstanding. 

“When you consider we lost [Kyle] Sinckler, we lost [Tom] Curry, we lost [Charlie] Ewels, we’ve got [Jonny] Hill on the sideline, there are a lot of blokes to come back and compete for the spots in the team, this pack is only going to get better and better,” he said. 

“We want to be an old fashioned England pack and a new fashion England in the way we attack and we’re moving in a really solid progression towards that and you can see how much the players are enjoying it. 

“You can see how much they want to play for each other and there was 82,000 people there tonight that loved to see the spirit of this team.” 

Meanwhile, the French notched up their fourth consecutive victory of tournament when they managed to beat the Welsh in Cardiff in a close encounter yielding a score of just 13-9. 

“We will enjoy this result but we also know that we need to look to the future.” said France assistant coach William Servat. “We have a big match coming up, we know that we need to start our preparation for a match like this. Recovery will be part of the performance next week. We are lucky to have a squad that is calm and has some experience. We have one thing to do: think about getting into the match. 

“We have a lot of affection for the players but we are also aiming for perfection, the players are pulling in that direction, that’s obviously good for us. The players have an overwhelming desire to give everything and with that outlook, the doors will naturally open for them. 

“We made the most of the event (winning in Cardiff), we didn’t play it down because you should never play down wins, but we are already back to work.” 

A stand-out performer for England against the Irish was, once again, Maro Itoje, whose tireless work-rate has come to be a defining feature of the English pack. Speaking earlier this week, the 27 year-old said: 

“The most overwhelming feeling is that we’re disappointed we lost the game. This was a game that we wanted to win, we were at home. 

“I thought our support was fantastic, the fans really got behind the team. They really created a great atmosphere to play in. We’re still very proud of the fight we showed. 

“There were numerous times in that game where it would have been easy to roll over and we stuck in it and I think we tried to put our best foot forward. 

“There is massive amounts of growth. The scrum was really good, it was a big weapon for us and it helped us get a foothold in the game. It’s a hallmark of English rugby so we need to make sure that we continue to develop it and go forward with it.” 

When asked about how England managed to keep in the game so well while a man down, Itoje offered insight: 

“Eddie trains us often with 13 men, we often have training sessions with 13-a-side so it’s a scenario that isn’t too alien to use but obviously we don’t want to be playing with 13, 14. 

“But I thought there was a strong amount of belief in the squad and if you watched the game up until about that 68th, 70th minute it was nip and tuck and we showed a lot of fight. 

“I moved across to the tighthead side, Courtney [Lawes] has played most of his rugby over the last few seasons at six but he is traditionally a second rower so moved into loosehead lock. 

“There is a little bit of difference but not a massive amount. Tighthead you can bit a bit more weight going through you but it’s relatively similar and the scrum went really well.” 

A look at the last five encounters between these two European giants suggests that the advantage lies with the home side. Of the said five, England have won three – all at Twickenham – while Les Bleus emerged victorious in the other two – both at Stade de France, Saint-Denis. If England manage to stick one on Fabien Galthie’s charges this weekend, they will make it three victories in a row. The most recent scrap took place just over a year ago, in Round 4 of the 2021 Six Nations tournament: 

Eddie Jones has called on Courtney Lawes to lead the England side once again and much attention will be focused on the return of flanker Sam Underhill, making his first appearance in the white jersey since the victory over the Springboks in 2021. The experienced Ben Youngs comes back into the side at scrumhalf to ignite the backline with Marcus Smith. 

 “This is our strongest 23 for the game against France,” Jones said. “We are disappointed not to be in the contention for the trophy but last week’s effort against Ireland was full of pride, energy and tactical discipline. 

“We have focused on refreshing the team this week and we are ready to empty the tank on Saturday.” 

Hooker Jamie George was a stand-out performer last weekend. Speaking ahead of the match, George hinted that France were going to have to work hard to earn the title. 

"We want to go there and spoil the party," he said. "They’ve been brilliant the last 18 months and we’re fully aware that it’s going to be a big challenge for us this weekend but one that I’m certain we’ll be ready for. 

"There’s a huge amount of pressure on them and we want to give them something they’re not going to expect. This is a huge game for us and we’re determined to finish the tournament off well. 

"We don’t want to give them set-piece ball because they can be dangerous off the back of that. It’s got to be something we disrupt but we’ve got a good plan in place. We’ve got great athletes in this team; when you’ve got the likes of Maro in your midst, he’s always going to come up with a good plan to go after it." 

The only change to the French side sees winger Yoram Moefana replaced by Damian Penaud who has recovered from Covid after being excluded from the Welsh clash.