RUGBY:ENGLAND HAVE reached yet another significant fork in the road. Beat France this evening and there is every reason to believe a first Six Nations title for eight years awaits. Take the wrong options against powerful but unpredictable opposition and they will be back in a frustrating cul-de-sac, cursing their overconfidence and still no closer to their preferred destination.
The mere fact that Martin Johnson’s team go in as favourites makes this 94th meeting between the two countries as enthralling as any since the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup. Twelve months ago England were under no huge pressure in Paris and performed accordingly; France did secure a grand slam but it was a desperately close-run thing. This time huge expectation exists on both sides of the Channel, reviving memories of the cockerel-chasing days when this fixture all but determined the tournament.
That is not yet guaranteed to happen this season, with England still required to visit Dublin, but it does shoehorn Johnson’s men into a role they are mostly unaccustomed to filling. France have gained just one championship victory at Twickenham since 1997 but they have won their past eight Six Nations games. There is every likelihood England will have to scrummage their hearts out and defend stoutly for lengthy periods, regardless of how many times Chris Ashton touches the ball.
Johnson knows the score from his own playing experience, and his grizzled warrior antennae are twitching. “We’re not expecting them to be anything other than very good. Everyone talks about the outcome depending on which French side turns up, but you can have an effect on that. If you let them play they’ll look fantastic; if you get them under pressure it’ll be a lot harder for them.”
England’s captain, Mike Tindall, wants his players to keep close tabs on the recalled Dimitri Yachvili, the man he sees as the barometer of France’s fortunes. As well as demanding a fast start to shake French confidence – if England have a proven advantage it is a mental rather than a physical one – he has a high regard for Yachvili’s skills as an executioner.
“If they get their forwards trundling, their whole game flows off the back of it,” Tindall said. “Yachvili’s just got a great brain on him. He’s one of those people who sees the game so well and makes good decisions off the back of that.”
It was Yachvili who kicked all the points in France’s odds-defying 18-17 win at Twickenham in 2005. He has been around long enough, though, to recognise an England team on an upward curve. The attacking zest of the English back three will examine a defence that has leaked six tries.
It will not matter whether Marc Lièvremont has been reading Churchill nor that these sides could easily meet again in a World Cup quarter-final. Today is primarily about discovering whether England are as good as they like to think or whether they are flat-track bullies. A confident England win would show the world they are heading in the right direction.
