France v England - Paris - 01/02/2014

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French XXIII

1. T Domingo 2. B Kayser 3. N Mas
4. A Flanquart 5. P Pape
6. Y Nyanga 7. B Le Roux 8. L Picamoles
9. J-M Doussin 10. J Plisson
12. W Fofana 13. M Basteraud
11. M Medard 15. B Dulin 14. Y Huget

16. D Sarzewski 17. Y Forestier 18. R Slimani 19. Y Maestri 20. A Burban 21. D Chouly 22. M Machenaud 23. G Fickou

England XXIII

1. J Marler
2. D Hartley
3. D Cole
4. J Launchbury
5. C Lawes
6. T Wood
7. C Robshaw
8. B Vunipola
9. D Care
10. O Farrell
11. J May
12. B Twelvetrees
13. L Burrell
14. J Nowell
15. M Brown

16. T Youngs 17. M Vunipola 18. H Thomas 19. D Attwood 20. B Morgan 21. L Dickson 22. B Barritt 23. A Goode

Kicking is going to be an issue, both place and out of hand. Paris is getting the outer edge of the stormy weather we are, rain and blustery winds of 15-25 mph (or is it knots for wind) is going to make life very difficult for the kickers.

I don't know where people get the idea that this is a bigger static grind out a position pack that France have picked, they are smaller and lighter than England and from what little I know good about the park. Their front row is somewhat static but everyone else is fairly mobile. Picamoles is the danger man for me, just glad Parra isn't around to set him up on his trundles.

With loose balls being kicked around it will be interesting to see which side tries to run it back, both have the potential to do so.

England by 5

I don't. I hope its a 6-0 up the jumper England win.

Well not really, I want to see some attacking play, but I would probably take that if you offered it to me now

Le Roux also means rust. Roux is rusty.

Just sayin'...

good try but Rust would be 'Rouille'

whocares wrote:good try but Rust would be 'Rouille'

Ah - hence "étoiles de mer rouillé" would be "rusty starfish".

So looking at the two teams who goes into this game with he favorites tag?

Scrumpy wrote:So looking at the two teams who goes into this game with he favorites tag?

England. Clear favourites for my money. Just watch out for Fofana and Bastareaud.

Don't think it'll be pretty though.

Think England have to be favorites given their recent head to head form. It is in France though which will surely make the task harder.

I hope you are right Duty!!

Its all about whether we can step up first game of the series.

Good question. It is genuinely hard to call - We just dont know how much effect France having a few extra days together will have. If it wasnt for that then I would definitely have England ahead.

With the bench make up France definitely have a plan

I have to say I am not expecting any kind of classic out of this game. It is likely to be dominated by mistakes, kicking and maybe (hopefully) a couple of moments of magic. And if there is a moment of magic I hope it isnt like the one we got last year with that brilliant Fofana break.

Hope the pitch holds up!

Surely they can be allowed to keep playing on newly laid turf!

I think we'll lead but it'll be close and if we try to close the game out early we could ruin ourselves.

Think France are going to be poor, if we can stop them scoring early then there heads'll go down and the fans will be on their backs.

mystiroakey wrote:I hope you are right Duty!!

Its all about whether we can step up first game of the series.

It's all about psychology. 3 psychological points in England's favour:

1) The English pack bullied New Zealand's equivalent a couple of months ago. The English pack, therefore, know they can easily do the same to the French.

2) This England team will be confident against France. It's currently 2 wins out of 2 for Lancaster's group; one in London and one in Paris. The venue won't faze them, nor will the occasion.

3) The English pack also know that they have a very reliable goal-kicker to turn any forward dominance into points on the board.

In the head, England have got this. And don't forget the finest referee in the rugby world is overseeing this one; there will be little problem with the scrum *cough* Steve Walsh *cough*.

For a second I thought you meant Steve 'Welsh'    was refereeing the game, I think the phrase rhymes with Clucking Bell.

No problem with Owens being in charge, always fair and consistent, yes he makes the odd mistake all Refs do I've never seen him take a dislike to a team before the game has kicked off.

Duty281 wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:I hope you are right Duty!!

Its all about whether we can step up first game of the series.

It's all about psychology. 3 psychological points in England's favour:

1) The English pack bullied New Zealand's equivalent a couple of months ago. The English pack, therefore, know they can easily do the same to the French.

2) This England team will be confident against France. It's currently 2 wins out of 2 for Lancaster's group; one in London and one in Paris. The venue won't faze them, nor will the occasion.

3) The English pack also know that they have a very reliable goal-kicker to turn any forward dominance into points on the board.

In the head, England have got this. And don't forget the finest referee in the rugby world is overseeing this one; there will be little problem with the scrum *cough* Steve Walsh *cough*.

Last game our fitness took them apart second half.. They gave us everything first half and couldn't capitalise..

Remember also that most teams have a moral victory over SH teams from the AI's. France almost turned the kiwis as well.

Monsieur Rolland is one of the assistant refs. Let's hope he doesn't try too much to make himself the star of the show.

On that topic, I re-watched the England v Wales game from 2012, my word - Steve Walsh is utterly shocking and Anglophobic to the core.

lostinwales wrote:Good question. It is genuinely hard to call - We just dont know how much effect France having a few extra days together will have. If it wasnt for that then I would definitely have England ahead.

With the bench make up France definitely have a plan

I have to say I am not expecting any kind of classic out of this game. It is likely to be dominated by mistakes, kicking and maybe (hopefully) a couple of moments of magic. And if there is a moment of magic I hope it isnt like the one we got last year with that brilliant Fofana break.

i think this is a good point. hope it doesnt pay dividends for them already this weekend, but no doubt the newfound "esprit de corps" in French rugby will be positive for their national team results.

Yeah last year France were on top for most of the game (well - the 1st half anyways) but couldnt close it down and we got stronger and stronger as it went on. Tuilagi's try was a touch fortunate but I dont think the result was.

EnglishReign wrote:On that topic, I re-watched the England v Wales game from 2012, my word - Steve Walsh is utterly shocking and Anglophobic to the core.

Sssshhhh we're not allowed to say things like that as it might upset some people!!!!

Scrumpy wrote:

EnglishReign wrote:On that topic, I re-watched the England v Wales game from 2012, my word - Steve Walsh is utterly shocking and Anglophobic to the core.

Shhhhh we're not allowed to say things like that as it might upset some people!!!!

I know I mention this everytime but the look on Tom Young's face when Walsh was shouting at the scrum to move 2 inches or whatever. It just said it doesnt matter what we do we know there is going to be a penalty anyway. Youngs was subbed right after.

In a situation like that it seemed we got a penalty against us because of the ref's failure to communicate. That wasn't fair. Standard excuse clause shown below..

Yes Wales played very well and fully deserved the win. We didn't. Only the margin is questionable, and Adam Jones' milking of the scrum for penalties was great play by him and also poor by the ref.

new scrum rules are a vast improvement in this respect at least.

they will suit england and france's awesome front rows much more than everyone else. no more hoodwinking the refs now the hit has been removed, and now they dont say "yes 9".

Who're favourites? Well oddschecker sees it as close just like the ultimate champions:

http://www.oddschecker.com/rugby-union/six-nations/france-v-england/winner

http://www.oddschecker.com/rugby-union/six-nations/winner

quinsforever wrote:new scrum rules are a vast improvement in this respect at least.

they will suit england and france's awesome front rows much more than everyone else. no more hoodwinking the refs now the hit has been removed, and now they dont say "yes 9".

They are alright. Having a really strong tighthead doesnt seem to matter as much anymore which is good for Ireland.

EnglishReign wrote:On that topic, I re-watched the England v Wales game from 2012, my word - Steve Walsh is utterly shocking and Anglophobic to the core.

Don't think I've ever been so angry after a game. Not with the result, Wales got their tactics spot on, England didn't and so the men in red more than deserved the win and subsequent slam but Walsh was absolutely shocking. Even the level headed Welsh fans on here acknowledged that they would have been very upset if he had reffed the teams the other way round. I've seen international ref's removed from the panel for better displays than that.

Does anyone know how soon after the match it is available on iPlayer?

Armchairexpert wrote:Does anyone know how soon after the match it is available on iPlayer?

Usually about 24hours as they do a highlights programme on BBC3.

Look it up on the bbc iPlayer site!

Gonna be close! The booze is ready, there's bacon in the fridge and the girlfriend has sworn not to talk/distract.
I'll second England by 6.

I think I get worried at the start of every 6 Nations. Hoping for the best and fearing the worst. This England team is solid in the pack but the backs are going to learn under fire. if they come good, England should be fine. If not, then we are in the deep stuff.

But, none of that matters. I just feel a bit of trepidation at the start of the tournament each year. Can't help it. Must be in the blood. Maybe something about my old man having called me three times this morning already - and it's not yet 7:00 in the morning yet here in Jersey.

Think I'm reasonably confident of England winning by a margin of 9-12 points. Might be more though. Don't let home advantage fool you; this French team are not very good. I cannot possibly see a scenario where France run out winners today, because England have a sizeable edge all over the park. Even in the backs, whilst England may be inexperienced the vast majority in that back line are on top form, particularly the debutant pair of Nowell and Burrell, and there's no reason why they can't replicate that club form for England.

I'm looking for a very, very good result from England tonight.

Duty281 wrote:Think I'm reasonably confident of England winning by a margin of 9-12 points. Might be more though. Don't let home advantage fool you; this French team are not very good. I cannot possibly see a scenario where France run out winners today, because England have a sizeable edge all over the park. Even in the backs, whilst England may be inexperienced the vast majority in that back line are on top form, particularly the debutant pair of Nowell and Burrell, and there's no reason why they can't replicate that club form for England.

I'm looking for a very, very good result from England tonight.

I would not say that England have the edge in the backs at all.

I think that England will win but I think that they will win because of the forwards and more importantly the mobility of the replacement forwards such as Morgan and Tom Youngs running at a tired French defence. England by 6.

With debutants on both sides, and players who have failed to carry previous club form into Ints before on both sides too, pretty hard to judge the backlines yet

6 forwards reserves to just the two backs. Wonder what the game plan of PSA will be? Pack the backline with forwards? 13 man lineouts? Driving mauls? Seems beyond the creative grasp of PSA.

I'm going out on a limb here and predicting that PSA will play a tight defensive game and look to smother the England pack in order for them not to get a roll on. It'll be the last thing on SL's mind after that team announcement. He'll still be scratching his head after the match wondering where that gameplan came from.

No question France are looking to play a forward dominated power game.
As much as anything the pitch will probably be a state and England have shown in recent times they are vulnerable to bullying. When you add to that France have a rookie half back pairing and will need time to get their backline play clicking it makes perfect sense to play up the jumper and beat up Englands flashier pack. Even more so with Bastreud in effect an extra forward runner.

The worry for me is that this game will take a lot out of England physically even if they do manage to win it. They are lacking depth in the pack if any more players get injured, and the backs are already down to bare bones (except SH)

Duty281 wrote:Think I'm reasonably confident of England winning by a margin of 9-12 points. Might be more though. Don't let home advantage fool you; this French team are not very good. I cannot possibly see a scenario where France run out winners today, because England have a sizeable edge all over the park. Even in the backs, whilst England may be inexperienced the vast majority in that back line are on top form, particularly the debutant pair of Nowell and Burrell, and there's no reason why they can't replicate that club form for England.

I'm looking for a very, very good result from England tonight.

Mate this is rugby. If they start out more hungry thats all it can take.. The only thing is that France never seem to be more hungry than us in recent years.. Not like the welsh or irish that can just put in super hero performances against us.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:6 forwards reserves to just the two backs. Wonder what the game plan of PSA will be? Pack the backline with forwards? 13 man lineouts? Driving mauls? Seems beyond the creative grasp of PSA.

Considering the conditions, its not a bad tactic but I just cant see France outmuscling England that much and as I said earlier, England's replacements seem to be of a higher quality.

If I were an England fan, I would be more worried about the midfield and wings as that is the other tactic France will use and I think they will have the edge there. Close game but I think England just have too much quality to lose.

Until the crazy substitutions PSA made last year Nacho, France were right in that game. But the gains they made were by gaining parity up front and seeking to damage England out wide. Then PSA pulled off the players who were making life difficult for England and England brought on players who actually made an impact and the game drifted quickly away from them.

I know France has a pack that can equal England's intensity and expertise but I find PSA's overly conservatism extremely frustrating from a neutral's perspective because there are talented players in the backs that can cause England some problems and I fear PSA is deliberately playing within his team's capabilities because he thinks low percentage rugby gives France the best possible chance against England, where clearly recent history suggests this is misguided thinking.

I know what you are saying Kia and agree with you but I do think that is PSA's best option in the expected conditions. He knows that England will not spread the ball that much due to Farrell so he will also want to keep it tight. I would not be surprised to see France kicking to the new wings and really pressurising them, that's the only way I can see a France win.

Any forward battle is always going to lead to an England win, its what they know and do better than any other NH team.

Nachos Jones wrote:I know what you are saying Kia and agree with you but I do think that is PSA's best option in the expected conditions. He knows that England will not spread the ball that much due to Farrell so he will also want to keep it tight. I would not be surprised to see France kicking to the new wings and really pressurising them, that's the only way I can see a France win.

Any forward battle is always going to lead to an England win, its what they know and do better than any other NH team.

So why try something that has inevitable defeat written all over it? I'm not suggesting he instructs his teams to fling the ball out in those conditions but there are different ways of playing in difficult conditions and not all of them play into England's hands. A little mixing up the play is all he needs. The high ball to the new wings will definitely be used but if the ball is slippery why not also use a grubber through the midfield. Stand up flat and commit the English backs and then at the right moment do something a little bit creative to keep them guessing.

It could be to do with the containing of England's forwards Kia, match England somewhat in the forwards and attack their wings with kicks may be the only option open to France.

No penalties must also be the call for France given Farrell's kicking abilities.

HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPED! For it now!

Had a nice family rosbif at lunch ans now slowly heading towards the SDF with confindence. Dry and clear sky so far so let's hope its a good one.
Enjoy the game folks   

Have a great time whocares

Good luck England

Which side do we pick for the referee?

Oh, don't worry it isn't Wales playing

Stuart Lancaster can play the press like the puppet master

Heart beat accelerating...nerves stretching...dry mouth...Come on! Let's get to the bluddy Kickoff!

Who is this fecking cliche dribbling wannabe-poet I keep having to listen to??????

Alright. How many minutes before inverdale finds a way to mention wilkinson?

10 at most