Naming the same England team twice in succession is a concept normally foreign to Clive Woodward. He is not a man shy of breaking new ground and, true to form, his players have crossed the English Channel earlier than any of their predecessors and set up camp in Chantilly, some 28 miles north of Paris. But the squad of 22 to face France is identical to the one that floored Ireland last time out.
Though anything else would have been a major surprise, Woodward could not recall a time in his two-year reign when injuries or other factors had not forced his hand.
"I'm not sure I've ever done it before," he smiled. "It makes the preparation potentially a lot easier."
England's build-up to recent big games in Paris, however, has been consistently laced with disappointment. Two years ago at the Stade de France, on the back of their momentous 26-26 draw with New Zealand, Woodward's first away game as England coach was a huge let-down, and everyone knows what happened in last October's World Cup quarterfinal against South Africa.
Woodward cannot afford his side to be anything less than perfectly primed for a match which already seems likely to settle the destination of the Six Nations title, and he revealed yesterday that the "lightweight" preparations for the equivalent fixture two years ago still bothered him.
"Following on the All Black game we were on a massive high and, looking back, we didn't prepare that well. It was my first away game as coach and maybe there was a bit of inexperience on the management side. We thought we could repeat it without the hard work. But ever since then we've prepared pretty well."
The French team will be confirmed today, with Alain Penaud poised for a recall at out-half after the untimely knee injury suffered by Christophe Lamaison.
Meanwhile, Liam Botham will make his debut for a much changed England A team in Blagnac on Friday. The Cardiff wing replaces Steve Hanley.
England: Perry (Bath); Healey (Leicester), Tindall (Bath), Catt (Bath), Cohen (Northampton); Wilkinson (Newcastle), Dawson (Northampton, capt); Leonard (Harlequins), Greening (Sale), Vickery (Gloucester), Archer (Bristol), Shaw (Wasps), Hill (Saracens), Back (Leicester), Dallaglio (Wasps). Replacements: Balshaw (Bath), King (Wasps), Gomarsall (Bedford), Corry (Leicester), Worsley (Wasps), Woodman (Gloucester), McCarthy (Gloucester).
England A: Best (Bristol); Botham (Cardiff), Johnston (Saracens), Yates (Gloucester), Brown (Bristol); Mapletoft (Saracens, capt), Wood (Wasps); Flatman (Saracens), Walter (Northampton), White (Saracens), Gillies (Llanelli), Kay (Leicester), Gustard (Leicester), Gar- diner (Bath), Scrivener (Wasps). Replacements: Hanley (Sale), A Hepher (Northampton), Walshe (Saracens), Diprose (Saracens), Cornwell (Gloucester), Green (Wasps), Fortey (Gloucester).
