Category: England Rugby

The one thing France fear about England isn’t their scrum, maul or back-play – it’s their attitude when they beat them

Always eager to keep its readers up to speed, the Guardian marked the inclusion of the French rugby team in the Five Nations by providing a quick glossary of pertinent terms. “Marquer” was one, “plaquer” another, “melee” a third, all familiar enough now after a hundred-and-some years of playing each other. Another essential phrase has come into the French game in that time, one borrowed from the English, who are, amusingly, almost entirely oblivious to its significance: “Sorry, good game.”

This phrase, or something like it, is what the English captain Vince Cartwright said to the French players after they went down 35-8 in the first fixture at the Parc des Princes in Paris in 1906. “Sorry, good game,” or something like it, is what Ian Preece repeated after he had kicked the winning drop goal in an 8-3 victory in 1949, when France were on a run of 43 years without winning in England. “Sorry, good game,” is, most indelibly, what the French heard, over and over again, from Will Carling, during the back half of a run of eight straight English victories that spanned 1989-1995.

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• France-based players ineligible under RFU rules
• Itoje reveals he rejected moves abroad to play for England

The France captain, Antoine Dupont, has revealed he is surprised by the Rugby Football Union’s policy that bans Steve Borthwick from picking players based abroad and admitted he is glad he will not lock horns with his Toulouse teammate Jack Willis on Saturday.

England host Dupont and co at Twickenham as they seek to improve a run of seven defeats in nine matches and do so without a raft of players who are based in France’s Top 14 and therefore considered unavailable.

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Be bold and back yourself will certainly be the theme of Steve Borthwick’s paddock pep talk at Twickenham

A flash red Ferrari was parked directly outside England’s team hotel shortly before Steve Borthwick unveiled his lineup to face France. It was tempting to see it as a symbol of everything the home side would love their reshuffled weekend team to be: fast, striking and a far cry from the battered Skoda they have metaphorically been driving around this season.

In tossing the playmaking keys to Northampton’s precocious Fin Smith, with Marcus Smith shunted into the role of keen-eyed back seat driver, that is essentially the ambition this week. Up the pace, keep the accelerator down for longer than they did in Dublin last Saturday and see where it takes them. Both on paper and in the car park the superficial appeal is obvious.

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• Fin Smith starts at fly-half with Marcus at full-back
• Borthwick: ‘Marcus sees space that other players don’t’

Steve Borthwick believes Marcus Smith can be England’s “gamechanger” against France after shifting the Harlequins playmaker to full-back and handing Fin Smith a first start at fly-half for Saturday’s crunch clash.

Marcus Smith has started England’s last eight Tests at fly-half but with Borthwick keen to exploit his sparkling talents from deep and introduce a second playmaker to the side, the head coach has rolled the dice as he seeks to end his side’s miserable run of seven defeats in nine matches.

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• Ntamack sent off in 43-0 defeat of Wales in Paris
• Fly-half will be available again to face Ireland

The France fly-half Romain Ntamack has been suspended for the match against England on Saturday, forcing Les Bleus into a reshuffle, but he will be available for their fixture against Ireland later in the tournament.

Ntamack was sent off in the emphatic victory against Wales last Friday and has been handed a three-week suspension. In his absence, Bordeaux’s mercurial fly-half Matthieu Jalibert is the favourite to come into the No 10 jersey at Twickenham.

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• England attack coach expects both teams to turn corner
• ‘We’re seeing green shoots – we play fast and score tries’

Steve Borthwick’s England squad has been compared to Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United side before the massive Six Nations fixture at home against France on Saturday. Both teams have been having difficult seasons but inside the red rose camp there remains a firm belief that, given a little patience, the tide will eventually turn for them.

England’s attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, also happens to be a United fan and sees similarities between the respective situations at Twickenham and Old Trafford. He thinks Amorim will eventually deliver success for United, now 13th in the Premier League, and is also backing England, who have won just two of their past nine Tests, to turn the corner in the not-too-distant future.

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• Fin Smith to start at No 10 with Marcus Smith at full-back
• ‘We’re blessed with three 10s who can play to a high level’

England are poised to select both Fin Smith and Marcus Smith in the same starting team to face France in the Six Nations this weekend.

The young Northampton fly-half is in line to make his first start in the No 10 jersey with his Harlequin namesake expected to be redeployed at full-back against France at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

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Scrum-half Dupont took time off to snare Olympic gold which has made him even more effective around the rucks

Tickets to watch France play England this weekend are not cheap. Premium adult seats cost £199 apiece and even the most affordable ones up in the gods will set you back £89. Before you phone the Rugby Football Union to enquire if an England win is included as part of the deal, however, ask yourself how often in life you have the chance to witness pure genius.

Admittedly this can be a subjective debate. Taylor Swift fans will have a different opinion to, say, Bob Dylan disciples. However, in contemporary sport there can surely be increasingly little debate. With all due respect to the colossal talents of Novak Djokovic, Max Verstappen, Patrick Mahomes, Simone Biles and Mohamed Salah, the name Antoine Dupont must be close to the top of the list.

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Visitors can forge a winning new identity under Maro Itoje but the experienced Irish remain marginal favourites

Every Six Nations fixture is a grand occasion but some games are bigger than others. Ireland and England both know how crucial today’s Dublin eliminator will be in terms of establishing early championship momentum. Listening to the upbeat pre-match tone of the visitors’ new captain, Maro Itoje – “I think we have a team that’s ready to write our own stories” – this also feels like a pivotal moment for Steve Borthwick’s whole England project.

A lot has already been said and written since last March’s corresponding match when Marcus Smith drilled a last-gasp drop-goal through the sticks amid ecstatic Twickenham scenes reminiscent of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. England have subsequently played eight Test matches and lost six, beating only Japan twice. The majority of those losses have been tight but close doesn’t win any cigars at the elite level.

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If England can tighten up and not rely on individual brilliance, they’ll have a chance in their Six Nations clash with Ireland

Not long ago you wouldn’t have thought of England as a team who produce many magic moments. Their approach at the 2023 World Cup was certainly different but, as we saw in the autumn, England can produce something from nothing. My worry is that they can be too reliant on those moments. Marcus Smith is a magician, capable of some spellbinding stuff, but there are only so many rabbits he can pull out of a hat.

Put simply, England have some room for improvement in terms of precision from their launch plays. To win in Dublin for the first time since 2019 they need to show better shape and patterns, which in turn give Marcus more opportunities to do his stuff. In the autumn most of what Marcus showcased wasn’t as a result of shape or patterns, it was instinct – darting down the blindside, leading counterattacks or picking off an intercept against New Zealand.

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As the Six Nations turns 25, we take a look back at the first tournament of the 21st century when the addition of Italy turned the Five Nations into the Six Nations

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• England captain expresses fears over paywall plans
• ‘Rugby needs more eyes on it, not less’

The England captain, Maro Itoje, has called for Six Nations organisers to keep the championship on free-to-air TV on the grounds that rugby union needs more exposure, amid fears the championship will disappear behind a paywall next season.

Itoje, who leads England for the first time in Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Ireland in Dublin, issued an impassioned plea, pointing to how he grew up watching the championship on the BBC and ITV.

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• Centre says there will be less emphasis on blitz
• ‘We know what we’re doing. That’s a step forward’

Henry Slade believes England have taken significant strides to fix their defensive frailties on the basis that “we know what we’re doing”, with the players adopting a more hands-on approach following a disappointing autumn.

Slade is the first senior player to admit England had difficulties getting up to speed during a “rushed” transition to the defensive system employed by Joe El-Abd, who was parachuted into the setup for the November international series after the shock resignation of Felix Jones.

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Card tricks are not the only sleight of hand the Northampton flyer will hope to show as Saturday’s opening Six Nations contest against Ireland looms

When the moment is right Tommy Freeman still loves performing the magic card tricks he first learned at school in Suffolk. It is always fun finding fresh “victims” and on the Eurostar back from an away game in Paris this month it was the turn of Northampton’s young scrum‑half Archie McParland to be left open-mouthed by his teammate’s sleight of hand.

Now you see it, now you don’t. Coincidentally that happens to be Freeman’s super-strength on a rugby field as well. His club coach, Sam Vesty, long ago spotted him as the type of player who makes most impact when he backs his instincts. A keen hockey player in his youth, Freeman possesses the spatial awareness to pop up in places his opponents are not anticipating.

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• Full-back says new rule gives fans value for money
• Steward studies Australian Rules Football for technique

Freddie Steward has praised the Six Nations’ decision to introduce 20-minute red cards in this season’s championship, hailing it as “good for the game”. The England full-back was shown a red card against Ireland in Dublin two years ago which was subsequently rescinded and he believes the game’s increasingly fine margins makes the new initiative a fairer solution.

Under the new approach, England would now be able to replace Steward with another player after 20 minutes rather than having to play the rest of the match at a numerical disadvantage. “The bunker stuff is really good,” insisted Steward. “It has such a significant impact on Test matches, as you saw in that game. It needs to be the right decision because it shapes campaigns for teams. You can lose games on a decision. It really kills you. I am glad they have taken strides to get it right.”

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