France V England

France were very nearly caught by Ireland after relaxing a bit once they had taken a commanding lead. Im not so sure that they will do the same today if they are in the same position. Vincent Clerc was instrumental in the last victory with three tries and his confidence will be sky high. There is a lot riding on this game tonight. Lets not forget that England knocked France out of the world cup last year at the semi final stage on their own turf, so revenge will be a factor in this. However England have gone backwards since then while the French seem to have gone from strength to strength. Lievremont has dropped several players and came into this tournament with a virtually different team than the one that competed at the world cup. So far it has worked well. Pascal Pape makes the cut today as does Morgan for the injured Jean-Baptiste Elissalde. Parra will partner Montpellier fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc who comes in for David Skrela.

England have not made too many changes, scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth will make his debut while Sheridan and Vickery return to boost the pack.

I like watching the French play, they are exciting, fast and can create a score out of virtually nothing and we have all seen them do it. England lack a real pacy man to cut a defence open and need to find a match winner like they had in Jason Robinson( easier said than done I know! )

I just can’t see England lasting with the French for this one. The line is set at 7 and I think that over two halves that the French can cover this. They just look likely to score tries out of nothing and if England let their concentration dip for two minutes at any stage then they will be caught. The French also look to be in peak physical condition and if they get in front then I don’t expect them to let up at any point.



Pick : France - 7 points
Odds : 2.00
Stake : 8 / 10
Bookmaker : Bet365
Match Result : 13-24
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