England v France Rugby

Steve Borthwick aiming for huge result at Twickenham after bold Marcus Smith selection call.

Their last win at English rugby headquarters was in a World Cup warm-up match in 2007. England vs France prediction While France are still favourites, the Six Nations hasn’t quite gone to plan for them so far. England vs France lineups [Ellis Genge](/topic/ellis-genge) skippers the team in his absence. How to watch England vs France

Everything you need to know about England's crunch Six Nations 2023 match against France at Twickenham. Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Wales v ...

France’s physicality has been the base for their success and Paul Willemse sits at the bottom of that pyramid as one of rugby union’s most imposing figures. Despite the height advantage Willemse holds over the Saracens forward, Itoje’s athleticism and intelligent interferences may make up what he concedes in strength. Itoje is also an excellent lineout jumper and has a superb ability to disrupt opposition set-piece plays. The duo take to the pitch again this weekend as Courtney Lawes has had to bow out with a shoulder injury. Ntamack, on the other hand, is a calm and composed playmaker, who is renowned for his tactical kicking and vision. Dupont is known for his lightning-fast acceleration and quick decision-making, which allows him to create opportunities for his teammates with ease. Particularly as Farrell has struggled off the tee with a kicking success rate of merely 47 per cent in the first three rounds. Opposite Lawrence and his centre partner Henry Slade is Gael Fickou at 13. Fickou will cause trouble for both Lawrence, Slade, and even Smith. The 9 and 10 began their partnership in England’s dismal autumn, but may yet flourish under Borthwick’s regime. It’s a big call, and one that could pay off in a big way. [dropped in a bombshell move from England head coach Steve Borthwick](https://inews.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/owen-farrell-dropped-why-marcus-smith-selection-explained-england-captain-vs-france-2200424?ico=in-line_link), with [Marcus Smith starting at fly-half against France](https://inews.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/england-team-vs-france-starting-line-up-replacements-six-nations-2023-fixture-2197820?ico=in-line_link) after two brief cameos from the bench against Italy and [Wales](https://inews.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/six-nations-2023-anthony-watson-england-progress-steve-borthwick-wooden-spoon-beckons-wales-2174144?ico=in-line_link).

Marcus Smith starts at fly half as England host France at Twickenham in Le Crunch.

Boos at the full time whistle of an England home fixture for the second time in a matter of months. Antoine Dupont, Gael Fickou, Thomas Ramos and Gregory Alldritt were all outstanding for the visitors, to name just four from a complete dismantling of an inferior side. “France are brilliant, there’s a reason they are number two in the world. You’d say Borthwick might be inclined to go back to his appointed captain in Dublin, but almost anything is surely now on the table. “We were well beaten by 43 points; when you play like that against a team so well coached and with ability like that, that’s going to happen. They played well, we played poorly - we have to learn from it and be better. England were shambolic, as their opponents dominated every facet of the game and scored seemingly at will. [France](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/france-rugby) aren’t even the best team in this [Six Nations](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/six-nations). Any credit Borthwick had built up as an ex-England captain, with an impressive coaching CV early in his career and as the ideal, straightforward man to follow the drama of the unpopular Eddie Jones era has likely been extinguished. “I think that we are incredibly disappointed with the performance. The main bearing on the game was the contact area. Never before, in 152 years of playing international rugby, had an England team suffered a home defeat this heavy.

England take on France in what could be a pivotal game in this year's Six Nations Championship. England currently sit third in the table level on points ...

England boss Steve Borthwick has made a huge call by dropping Owen Farrell in favour of Marcus Smith. The winner will still be able to win albeit in unlikely circumstances. England currently sit third in the table level on points with France and still harbour distant hopes of lifting the title. The match kicks-off at 4:45 and is available to watch live on Virgin Media 1. Ramos sprints clear and is on the receiving end of a Dumortier pass. They also could still win the tournament but must rely on other results going their way.

England endured their biggest ever home defeat as France scored seven tries in a 53-10 thrashing.

England player ratings live from Twickenham: This was savage, a brutal record beating as England were blown away by France.

[Henry Arundell](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/henry-arundell/) – 3.5 Quickly upped the tempo and gave the assist for Steward. An awful day ended with Penaud leaving him for dead for the first of his late tries. Was the other player involved in not preventing the offload on halfway that got France up and running with their opening score. Similar to Sinckler, he badly fell foul of referee O’Keeffe in the opening 15 minutes and was always on the back foot from there. Looked to be improving during February, but this display was a dire collapse as he was outfought by the opposition grunt. First-time captain endured a horrible experience in which he contributed to his team’s slow start with a deflating 12th-minute knock-on. That gave the French a soft mark to clear from their 22. His 60-minute appearance went from bad to worse after that. No one could quibble that he didn’t deserve his place, but he was blown away here and hooked on 46 for Farrell. That tick has now been well and truly inked, the swashbuckling Les Bleus’ winning at English Rugby HQ for the first time since 2005. All that palaver was marked absent in a filthy rout where their back row essentially never got off the bus.

Steve Borthwick says he is "incredibly disappointed" with England's humiliating record defeat to France at Twickenham in the Six Nations, adding they are ...

"Now, what's clear is while we had plans in place today to mitigate against that power, we didn't execute enough and made errors. I said before the game it was a formidable challenge, and it turned out to be. We've got to learn from it and be better. And that hurts us, and I'm sure it hurts the supporters as well. My job is to make sure we learn and improve faster than any other team. Today just shows, in stark reality, what that's about.