England keen to sink teeth into weakened French outfit

The Autumn Nations Cup is set for a thrilling conclusion as the tournament’s only two unbeaten teams will clash in the final game on Sunday.

England and France have risen as the current giants of Europe, putting together displays of strength and competence that have seen them tick off a trio of victories in as many outings.

It is the French who have pipped England on the overall standings having drawn a total of 14 points from their fixtures while Eddie Jones’ troops have managed 13.

This past round saw the English travel to Parc Y Scarlets where they put the struggling Welsh away 24-13 before France brought the hammer down on Italy 36-5 at Stade de France.

The Welsh drew first blood against their old foes with a try after 10 minutes by centre Johnny Williams after a thrilling foot race. The English, however, did not wait long before returning the favour as man-of-the-match Sam Underhill sliced through a gap on the Welsh 22m line and offloaded to the energetic Kyle Sinckler. From the ensuing ruck, Henry Slade cantered in over the try-line. The score was in England’s favour at the break, albeit not by much, as the the teams left the field for the sheds with 11-7 emblazoned on the scoreboard. 

Thirty minutes elapsed in the second stanza before another score transpired – this time via Mako Vunipola. Dan Biggar knocked over a brace of penalties for Wales, though, bringing his team to within 5 points, but England captain Owen Farrell hit back with two kicks of his own to give the game’s score finality.

A slight case of Jekyll & Hyde possessed the French in their encounter with Italy as Fabien Galthie’s men changed a poor first half performance into a one-sided victory at Stade de France.

With the score at 10-5 in the French’s favour at half-time, it was anybody’s game, though the fitness levels became evident in the second stanza as Italy began to look heavy on their feet, allowing France to finally blossom and run in four more tries to make the game their own.

It is an almost fairytale ending to the Autumn Nations Cup with undoubtedly the competition’s two best teams bringing it to a close. Unfortunately, however, Les Bleus will not be fielding a full-strength team due to agreements with the Top14 clubs regarding rotation.

Still, the players who do turn out for France this weekend will have their A-games at the ready against their historical foes on the hallowed turf of Twickenham as the winners will be crowned Autumn Nations Cup champions – an award which, in all likelihood, will stand alone as the competition is not expected to be repeated in the future.

England boss Eddie Jones has been his usual, vocal self during the build-up to the clash, predicting that his side will dismantle the diluted French outfit come Saturday, as well as throwing out thoughts on the current state of the game.

"We'd like to dominate France and how we do that will depend on what sort of game it is. We can't control that," Jones said.

"Just looking at rugby at the moment, it's certainly a tough, physical game. A real game for the purists at the moment.

"It reminds me of the 2007 World Cup where defences were pretty dominant and kicking was one of the major ways to get ahead in the game.

"We go through these periods in the game. The next cycle is always an attacking one, so let's enjoy the defensive cycle we have at the moment and look forward to the attacking cycle when it comes.

"When that happens is always dependent on the laws - when we get quick ball we're able to play with some space and some time.

"You just look at every side in the world now, they're so much better organised in defence.

"Everyone's getting off the line hard and time and space are at a premium. Unless we are able to get quick ball, it's very difficult to play with any fluency.

"We're looking forward to the game, we're so excited about it. We've worked hard for nine weeks to get to this position," Jones said.

"We can't control what the opposition puts out there, we're not even worrying about it. You know whatever side France puts out is going to be competitive.

"They're going to be tough, they've won the last two Under-20 World Cups so they have plenty of good players. We're not concerned about this one iota - it's out of our control.

"All we can do is play to our best. We're worried about our performance and how we can improve that.

"In a championship, the final week is always the greatest learning week. You learn a lot about yourselves, about your team-mates, about how you operate as a team.

"We've had one unsuccessful final in the last 13 months, so we've learned from that and we'd like to put our learnings into practise this week.

"I'd like to congratulate the organisers of the tournament. They've done a fantastic job to put it on in such difficult circumstances.

"It's quite a feat and it's been good, competitive rugby. We're pleased to be in the final but there's one game to go."

Saturday’s game kicks off at 16:00 local time and hopes are that it will bring a fitting end to what has been an enjoyable tournament.