Preview: France v Red Roses
Everything you need to know ahead of the Red Roses' TikTok Women's Six Nations clash with France.
The Red Roses head across the channel to Bayonne looking to seal a fourth straight TikTok Women's Six Nations title and with it their 16th Grand Slam.
After picking up her 100th cap against Ireland at Welford Road in the previous round, Emily Scarratt will captain the side in the absence of the injured Sarah Hunter. Elsewhere Alex Matthews earns her 50th cap for England starting at blindside flanker. Leanne Infante gets the nod at scrum half while Poppy Cleall takes the number eight shirt as the only change to Simon Middleton's starting lineup.
- When? Saturday, 30 April
- Kick-off? 1415 GMT
- Where? Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne
- Coverage? Watch live on BBC Two and iPlayer, listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, and follow on England Rugby Instagram and Twitter
Caroline Drouin returns at fly-half in place of the championship's top points scorer Jessy Trémoulière who drops to the bench. Their backline is otherwise unchanged with top try scorer Laure Sansus completing the half back lineup. Audrey Forlani comes in at lock pushing Céline Ferer to the back row and Julie Annery to the bench.
The French host the Red Roses in the Grand Slam decider with both having won all four of their matches to date. England have the edge on points difference and tries scored but that is all that separate them going into what will be an inevitably tight and exciting affair.
England are currently on a record-breaking run of 22 consecutive wins after defeating Ireland 69-0 in their last outing and will be hoping to make it 23 in a row this Saturday. With both sides going toe-to-toe thus far, this is a winner-takes-all contest and as such could provide an indication of the knockout rugby we see at the World Cup later this year. With that being said, Middleton's side will be focused on the task at hand and desperate to lift the Six Nations trophy aloft come the final whistle.
France on the other hand are on an impressive winning run of their own. They have claimed seven victories in a row, a run which include back-to-back triumphs over New Zealand and four wins in the championship to leave them sitting second in the table. Unbeaten in this tournament, and the most potent threat to England's Grand Slam hopes to date, a titanic tussle for the title is expected to unfold in Bayonne.
Teams
Red Roses
15. Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 14 caps)
14. Lydia Thompson (Worcester Warriors, 52 caps)
13. Emily Scarratt (C; Loughborough Lightning, 100 caps)
12. Holly Aitchison (Saracens, 7 caps)
11. Jess Breach (Harlequins, 21 caps)
10. Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 37 caps)
9. Leanne Infante (Bristol Bears, 50 caps)
1. Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins, 68 caps)
2. Lark Davies (Loughborough Lightning, 39 caps)
3. Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 44 caps)
4. Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, 29 caps)
5. Abbie Ward (VC; Bristol Bears, 54 caps)
6. Alex Matthews (Worcester Warriors, 49 caps)
7. Marlie Packer (Saracens, 82 caps)
8. Poppy Cleall (Saracens, 54 caps)
Finishers
16. Amy Cokayne (Harlequins, 61 caps)
17. Hannah Botterman (Saracens, 27 caps)
18. Maud Muir (Wasps, 8 caps)
19. Rosie Galligan (Harlequins, 5 caps)
20. Sarah Beckett (Harlequins, 23 caps)
21. Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning, 3 caps)
22. Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury, 58 caps)
23. Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 22 caps)
France
15. Chloé Jacquet
14. Caroline Boujard
13. Maëlle Filopon
12. Gabrielle Vernier
11. Marine Ménager
10. Caroline Drouin
9. Laure Sansus
1. Annaëlle Deshaye
2. Agathe Sochat
3. Clara Joyeux
4. Madoussou Fall
5. Audrey Forlani
6. Céline Ferer
7. Gaëlle Hermet (C)
8. Romane Ménager
Replacements
16. Laure Touyé
17. Coco Lindelauf
18. Yllana Brosseau
19. Julie Annery
20. Emeline Gros
21. Alexandra Chambon
22. Jessy Trémoulière
23. Emilie Boulard
Views from Camp
Head Coach Simon Middleton: “The Six Nations is a pinnacle event alongside the World cup and we want to win it every time we play it, it’s as simple as that. We’ve got ourselves in a position to do just that but France have as well. It’s probably the toughest game you can play in international rugby at this moment in time, France in France. For us it’ll be a benchmark of where we’re at and that’s probably as important for us as any outcome. This is the game we wanted to get to in the state we’re in, so we could see where we’re at and test ourselves.”
"It’s going to be an incredibly physical game and the ability to sustain the upfront battle could be the pivotal factor. Ultimately the winner of the upfront battle will provide the platform for the backs to play. I thought our backs were tremendous last week when they got the platform to play off. To be able to provide a platform at the backend of the game will be really important for us."
"It will be really partisan. Everybody will have two flags and a hooter and they’ll be going berserk. Part of our plan will be to shut everybody up. We’ve got to grab control of the atmosphere as well as grab control of the game. One will be a product of the other. But there will be times I have no doubt where France will have some great moments in the game. Hopefully not too many of them but the crowd and the noise will be incredible when they get their moments."
"How we handle those moments will be a real good test of where we’re at, both in terms of our ability on the field but also our mental strength. It’s a game we’re all dying for, I don’t think we could’ve trained any harder at this point, I think we’ve played as close to as good as what we’re expected to, but we won’t know until the test comes on Saturday. I don’t think it’s something that will phase our players, I think they’ll rise to it.”
Captain Emily Scarratt: “I’m really excited. It’s definitely one of the toughest games we’ll have, the crowd is always amazing and we know the stands will be absolutely packed. We’re all just really excited, it’s a huge opportunity to test ourselves against a very good opposition and in a tough environment. It’s exciting to head out and see what we’re capable of against that standard of opposition.”
“We just want to continue to get better. We test ourselves up against our own standards and that’s how we measure ourselves. We want to continue to raise that standard as individuals but also collectively when we come together as a team. The Six Nations and the Grand Slam this weekend is huge for us but in the context of this season, we’re looking towards the World Cup and there’s no bigger thing than that so we have to be really diligent in terms of our motivation and continuing to push irrelevant of some of the results that we’re getting.”
“A large proportion of this squad have played away in France, they know what it’s like and obviously it’s a great environment to be in. It’s one of my favourite places to play because of that. The support isn’t necessarily behind you but the atmosphere is incredible so whichever way you can spin it to motivate you and kick on to do the best you can then that’s how we approach it. Everyone’s prepared for what’s to come and just hoping we can hit the ground running when we get out there.”
"Everyone else was talking about this game before we were and now we are here it is a winner takes all game which is exactly what knockout rugby is whether it’s a quarter, semi, or final. It’s certainly practice for those occasions, hopefully we’ll be in and amongst them later in the year. Winner takes all games are different, they come with a bigger pressure, but they are brilliant tests. You just don’t get to play in them particularly often, we play autumn games that don’t culminate in a final game and the way the Six Nations has panned out it’s given us that opportunity so it’s a brilliant practice for us.”
Previous encounters
- 30 April 2021: France 15-17 England - Stadium Villeneuve, Lille
- 24 April 2021: England 10-6 France - Twickenham Stoop, London
- 21 November 2020: England 25-23 France - Twickenham Stadium, London
- 14 November 2020: France 10-33 England - Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
- 2 February 2020: France 13-19 England - Stade du Hameau, Pau
- 16 November 2019: England 17-15 France - Sandy Park, Exeter
- 9 November 2019: France 10-20 England - Stade Marcel Michelin, Clermont Ferrand
- 10 July 2019: England 20-18 France - Chula Vista Elite Training Centre, San Diego
- 10 February 2019: England 41-26 France - Castle Park, Doncaster
- 10 March 2018: France 18-17 England - Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Key stats
- Simon Middleton's side have won 22 matches in a row
- The Red Roses are on a nine-match winning streak against France and have won 13 of the last 14 meetings
- France are looking for their first win against England since 2018
- Les Bleus are on a seven-match winning run themselves in which they have beaten New Zealand back-to-back
- The Red Roses have scored 42 tries and made 4,211 metres so far this tournament, over double France's total of 20 tries and nearly double France's total metres made of 2,354
- France have the top two points scorers in the championship in their ranks with Jessy Tremouliere on 32 and top try scorer Laure Sansus on 30 with six tries this term
- However, England have five of the top ten points scorers themselves with Emily Scarratt matching Sansus' points tally and Lydia Thompson and Lark Davies on five tries each
