Six Nations Preview: England vs. France

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Editor

Time: Sunday, 15:00 GMT
Venue: Twickenham, London
Referee: Stuart Dickinson
Weather: Sunny, light easterly winds

In past decades ‘Le Crunch’ was often the match that would decide which of England or France would claim the Six Nations title. The picture in recent years has been someone different as a resurgent Wales has shaken up the pecking order in European rugby, helped by the brave Irish.

Sunday’s match has more to do with pride than the future of the Six Nations trophy. England could salvage some dignity for their 2009 Six Nations campaign by beating their old enemy, while France will have an opportunity to keep their slender title hopes alive provided other results go their way.

Looking for Discipline
Martin Johnson has made no bones about the fact that heads will roll if England produce another indisciplined performance at Twickenham. Two yellow cards per match, along with a hail of penalties, have cost England dear in all their matches to date and they will face an uphill battle maintaining discipline in the face of a French team adept at niggling play.

Settling Down
Thomas Lievremont’s neck was briefly removed from the block after his side secured a crucial win over Six Nations champions, Wales. A second win against England will most likely extend his stay of execution. The French can expect to benefit from a more settled half-back pairing, where specialist fly-half, Francois Trinh-Duc, starts alongside Morgan Parra.

Players to Watch
England: Toby Flood has held onto the pivot position in the England team, and will be key to putting the threatening England backline in motion against France.

France: Toby Flood’s opposite number, Francois Trinh-Duc makes a start for France after playing as a replacement in the previous match. Like Flood, Trinh-Duc is the latest product of the search for a test-quality starting fly-half and will have the opportunity to secure the number 10 jersey if he puts in a big performance.

Six Nations Betting
Bookmakers are cagey about calling the result of Le Cunch, and have priced both sides at around even money in the match betting markets. The handicap markets demonstrate the same fence-sitting with a single point separating the two sides. These factors suggest that betting on small winning margins may be the way to go in this match.

Winning Margin Betting	Price
England by 1-5	9/2
France by 1-5	9/2
Rugby Betting at Paddy Power

England: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Ugo Monye, 13 Mike Tindal, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Joe Worsley, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Simon Shaw, 4 Steve Borthwick(c), 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Julian White, 18 James Haskell, 19 Nick Kennedy, 20 Danny Care, 21 Andy Goode, 22 Mathew Tait.

France: 15 Maxime Medard, 14 Julien Malzieu, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cedric Heymans, 10 Françios Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Sebastien Chabal, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayzer, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Louis Picamoles, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 21 Florian Fritz, 22 Damien Traille.