FRANCE v ENGLAND: 6 Nations

21.03.2015

Venue: Twickenham

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Preview
Three nations have a chance to win the 6 Nations Championship. They are Wales, Ireland and England. Wales plays Italy, Ireland plays Scotland and England plays France in the final round Saturday.

Of all those games the England-France clash looks the most likely to be a close clash. That does not look good for England’s chance of winning the title. If all three teams win their game then it will come down to point difference.

Last Five Encounters
01.02.2014 France 26-25 in Paris (6 Nations)
23.02.2013 England 23-13 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
11.03.2012 England 24-22 in Paris (6 Nations)
08.10.2011 France 19-12 in Auckland (World Cup, Quarter final)
26.02.2011 England 17-9 at Twickenham (6 Nations)

France last won at Twickenham in 2007, 21-15.

England Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
14.03.2015 v Scotland W 25-13 at Twickenham (6 Nations;Calcutta Cup)
01.03.2015 v Ireland L 9-19 in Dublin (6 Nations)
14.02.2015 v Italy W 47-17 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
06.02.2015 v Wales W 21-16 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v Samoa W 28-9 at Twickenham

France Last Five P 5, W 2, L 3
15.03.2015 v Italy W 29-0 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Trophy)
28.02.2015 v Wales L 13-20 in Paris (6 Nations)
14.02.2015 v Ireland L 11-18 in Dublin (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v Scotland W 15-8 in Paris (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v Argentina L 13-18 in Paris

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: England 2nd, France 11th
Europe Table: England 3rd, France 4th

World Rugby Ranking Points
England 85.11, France 80.02

Prediction: England by 6: Score: 17-11

TEAMS

England
15 Michael Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Benjamin Youngs, 8 William Vunipola,
7 Christopher Robshaw (Capt.), 6 James Haskell, 5 Courtney Lawes,
4 Geoffrey Parling, 3 Daniel Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joseph Marler
Replacements
16 Thomas Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieron Brookes, 19 Nicholas Easter, 20 Thomas Wood, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Daniel Cipriani,
23 William Twelvetrees

Head Coach: Stuart lancaster

France
15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Maxime Mermoz,
11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Sébastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (Capt.), 5 Yoann Maestri,
4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Vincent Debaty.
Replacements
16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

Head Coach: Philippe Saint-Andre