The grand-slam game for France and so much more; in the short term there is the small matter of vengeance for the recent humiliations England have wreaked upon them. The World Cup semi-final was the lowest point of them all, on home turf in 2007, but England returned and beat them again in Paris under Brian Ashton in 2008.
Martin Johnson’s team has only produced one performance of adequate quality and that was against France at Twickenham last season when the visitors were nothing short of humiliated. If there is one European nation with a track record to scare the life out of France, it is England.
It is because of these psychological connotations that this game remains a compelling prospect despite the evidence screaming "mismatch". On all known form lines the match is merely a matter of how much? France have played some sumptuous stuff this season, especially at home, while England â€" far from making progress â€" have regressed an alarming distance in the last twelve months.
It is a watershed match for both nations. France are undoubtedly a more talented side than England. They have the beating of them in every tangible department but there is hope for Johnson; hope that France will fail to handle the dual pressure of a match to win the grand slam and a game against their bête noir.
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England are not good enough to beat France but France might just be mentally weak enough to do something terrible to themselves. And defeat truly would be a terrible blow; one so heavy that I do not believe this group of players would have time to recover before the World Cup.
This is the biggest game of Marc Lievremont’s reign to date. Never mind that he has beaten New Zealand in the southern hemisphere and smashed the world champions; this is the game that proves whether this squad has the mental capacity to challenge beyond the Six Nations for the highest international honours.
They have proved the abundance of talent since beating New Zealand in the summer. Morgan Parra is maturing into something special and his partnership with Francois Trinh-Duc is shaping into France’s best and most solid half back partnership for years. They are well led and possess in Imanol Harinordoquy, the pre-eminent No 8 in the world. The gut of this team is exceptional.
The spine is strengthened by the late flowering of the always talented William Servat into a hooker of exceptional ability. The second row smashes into breakdowns, the fluid lineout is improving by the week and even dear old Clement Poitrenaud has put his toys away and is playing like a man. He has been superb in this tournament and has a major role to play on Saturday.
England, it pains me to reiterate, have kicked away so much possession and so much of it aimlessly in blind hope that the opposition would do something daft deep in their own half. Beneath all the principles espoused this is the innate negativity that has been at the heart of England’s game. Should they kick the ball down the throat of the Toulouse man he is likely to destroy England as he did Italy.
Clement has had more than his share of mad moments but this is a new scary (for the opposition) and inspiring one (for the supporters). Judicious but never afraid to take the opportunity to devastate on the counter, his form epitomises France’s game this season.
Alas, England has no one near that level of form or confidence. In Scotland the side was set up to stop Scotland instead of creating much itself. They were lucky not to lose; the odds are they will not be as fortunate again.
I am not even sure that English fans should be hoping for another spectacular French freeze. England are clearly on the wrong route with a stubborn management and an ever increasingly ridiculous sounding captain.
If England could stun France with a sophisticated blend of forward power and attacking creativity it would be a tonic for the nation but this is, on all available evidence, a wild dream. So too is a win but with France, until they win that grand slam and put England away, you just cannot be certain.
A narrow defeat based upon a nervy home team and a deliberately destructive visiting side would be worse news for England than an absolute hammering. Someone has to get the message across that Johnson is the emperor with no clothes and nobody close to the man is going to tell him. He doesn’t hear much but the sound of his own thinking. Shock therapy might be the only treatment to work for England. France, at their best, could do us all a favour.
Main Man: Clement Poitrenaud
The barometer for this French team. A reformed character with a genius controlled for the first time in his career; should he keep a lid on his temperament and await the chances that will surely come his way he and France will slam the door on poor England.[/b]
