2025 Six Nations preview: England v France
Everything you need to know ahead of 'Le Crunch' as England host France for their second match of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
The last Six Nations encounter between England and France was a thrilling game that ended 33-31 to Les Bleus thanks to a late penalty from the boot of Thomas Ramos.
England head into this fixture on the back of a narrow five-point loss to Ireland in Dublin, despite tries from Cadan Murley, Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman. Opponents France began their Six Nations campaign with a 43-0 win over Wales, scoring seven tries.
| Where | Allianz Stadium |
| When | Saturday 8 February |
| Kick-off | 16:45 |
| Where to watch | ITV1 or ITVX |
Team updates
Jamie George joined up with the England squad on Sunday, and his Saracens team mate Alex Lozowski has replaced the injured Cadan Murley in camp.
Last time out
Stats & facts
England evaded a higher share of the tackles that they faced than any other team in the opening round of this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations (28%) and as a result were the only side to beat over 30 defenders (33) – Steve Borthwick’s side also gained the most metres per carry of any nation last weekend (4.1).
15 of England’s last 17 games have been decided by single figure margins, including all six of their Six Nations fixtures during that spell, with the only exceptions being two comfortable victories against Japan (52-17 and 59-14).
France made the most attacking 22 entries (12) and scored the most points per entry (3.6) of any team in Round 1 of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations; Les Bleus also conceded the joint-fewest defensive 22 entries of any side last weekend (5) and were the only team not to concede a single point.
France back-rower Gregory Alldritt made the joint-most carries of any player in Round 1 of the 2025 Six Nations (18) and was one of just two players to make 30+ metres in contact (32).
England’s Tom Curry won the most turnovers of any player across the opening round of this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations, securing three jackals from the 12 rucks he hit, while his twin brother Ben Curry ranked joint-first for dominant tackles with four.
France have lost just one of their last 11 Tests (W9, D1), winning their last four in a row; they did lose their most recent away game (v Argentina in July) but haven’t lost consecutive matches on the road since 2021, which included a Six Nations defeat to England at Allianz Stadium.
Previous encounters
2024: France 33-31 England
2023: England 10-53 France
2022: France 25-13 England
2021: England 23-20 France
2020: England 22-19 France
Did you know?
The first and only time England Rugby played an official game of Test rugby on New Year’s Day was against France in 1908. It was just the third meeting between the two teams but the fixture, now known as Le Crunch, has gone on to be played more than 100 times.
U20s in action
Mark Mapletoft's men got their title defence off to winning ways in Cork last weekend, beating Ireland 3-19. They face France in Bath on Friday night - kick off at 8pm - where a win would keep them on course for a Grand Slam.
Related topics
- Attack
- T - Tries
- M - Metres carried
- C - Carries
- DB - Defenders beaten
- CB - Clean breaks
- P - Passes
- O - Offloads
- TC - Turnovers conceded
- TA - Try assists
- PTS - Points
- Defence
- Tackles - Tackles
- MT - Missed tackles
- TW - Turnovers won
- Kicking
- K - Kicks in play
- C - Conversions
- PG - Penalty goals
- DG - Drop goals
- Set plays
- TW - Throws won
- LW - Lineouts won
- LS - Lineout steals
- Discipline
- PC - Penalties conceded
- RC - Red cards
- YC - Yellow cards
Late Daly try stuns France as England triumph in Six Nations
An 80th minute converted Elliot Daly try gave England a 26-25 win over France in the second round of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations at Allianz Stadium.
France made their attacking intent clear early on, showing plenty of pace threat out wide through Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Damian Penaud.
England’s defence absorbed the pressure however, with Les Bleus’ most promising surge toward the line - courtesy of Thomas Ramos - thwarted in the very next phase by a momentum shifting tackle from Tom Curry.
The visitors dominated territory and possession, but struggled to convert their opportunities as Ramos missed a penalty on the 12-minute mark, and uncharacteristic handling errors from Antoine Dupont and Penaud scuppered certain scores.
French endeavour shone through on 29 minutes, as Dupont swept across the field just inside England’s half - offloading to Penaud on his inside - before the winger nudged a well-weighted kick into the path of his counterpart Bielle-Biarrey to dot down in the corner. Ramos’ conversion made it 0-7.
Undeterred, England regathered and made their way down the pitch. Finding themselves inside the French 22 for just the second time with minutes left on the clock - a series of sloppy passes were scooped up by Freeman, who shifted the ball to the onrushing Lawrence to go under the posts for his fifth Test try. Marcus Smith’s extras levelled the affair.
The half time stats showed a strong French performance, as they made 100 more metres than England, beat more defenders, as well as registering more carries and clean breaks. England Rugby’s Match Centre highlighted Freeman as a standout performer - the Northampton Saint beating three defenders with his five carries.
Second half drama
A frantic pace was set at the resumption, as both sides committed to running the ball from all areas of the pitch, but it was Fabien Galthié’s men who put points on the board first - thanks to a pair of Ramos penalties - which opened up a six-point lead.
It was short lived though, as England struck back on 57 minutes. Inside the French 22, fly-half Fin Smith - making his first Test start - fired a cross-field kick toward the touchline, and his Northampton team mate Freeman plucked it out of the air to score.
A Penaud try on the hour mark swung the momentum back toward Les Bleus, but Borthwick's men wrestled their way back into the Test with 10 minutes remaining, when replacement prop Baxter bullied his way over the line from close range. Fin Smith’s extras gave England the lead for the first time with the score 19-18.
A late Bielle-Biarrey effort - successfully converted - looked to have taken the game away from England, but a last gasp English attack saw Daly burst through the line to steal the game 26-25 at Allianz Stadium.
