Six Nations: Stephen Ferris previews England v France
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Ladbrokes ambassador and former Ireland international Stephen Ferris previews Saturday’s Six Nations heavyweight clash between England and France at Twickenham.
England coach Steve Borthwick made the shock decision to drop captain Owen Farrell and install Marcus Smith at fly-half, with Ellis Genge named skipper, although there are no further changes to the side that toppled Wales in round three.
Click on the link for Saturday’s match between Italy and Wales in Rome.
England v France (Saturday, 16.45, BBC/ITV)
You have to go back a long way for a France victory at Twickenham in the Six Nations. Their last win came in 2005 when they won by a single point. Can France go away from home and put in a dominant display against a well-drilled England team? Or will we see a similar side that gave Ireland chance after chance and were ultimately well beaten?
England have won their last two games in the Championship after getting off to a rocky start against Scotland. Borthwick likes to implement a strategic game plan which usually involves a lot of kicking, and trying to feed off the opposition’s mistakes.
However, kick loosely to this French side and the counter-attack could be devastating. With Thomas Ramos and Damian Penaud always waiting to pounce, you can expect a lot of England’s kicks to be very long or ultra-contestable. A game of kick tennis is not what the 80,000 + supporters at Twickenham have paid their hard-earned money to watch, but it might just pan out that way. Let’s hope not.
Steve Borthwick has named our side for #ENGvFRA on Saturday 🌹@O2 | #WearTheRose
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 9, 2023
France have suffered two red cards in each of their last two games, both to their tight-head props. With both now banned it will be the third choice number three who will have to try to pin down Ellis Genge at scrum time.
Forget the pace and power in the wide channels from both sides, the set-piece is a crucial area that in my opinion will determine the outcome of this game. An extremely cold damp day is forecast, so the props will be licking their chops knowing that there will more than likely extra scrummaging and mauling throughout the game. Maybe expect a yellow card or two if it does turn into an arm wrestle.
Antoine Dupont will captain the French team who are two-point favourites to win the game. Some might say the little magician has been quieter than usual during this championship, although with one of the biggest spotlights in sport shining down on the Twickenham grass, will this be the time that Dupont changes gear back into beast mode? For England’s sake, I hope not.
