England: Maro Itoje hoping to finish their Six Nations campaign on a high against France

Dylan Coetzee

Maro Itoje would like England to finish off their disappointing Six Nation campaign with a win against high flying France.

England lost to Ireland in the fourth round, spelling the end of their title chances, and may need to beat France if they are to avoid finishing in the bottom half of the table.

Playing for pride

France have been the best team in this year’s Six Nations and need to win to claim their first Grand Slam since 2010 whilst England are playing for pride.

“It’s about the type of team and individuals we want to be,” the Lions second row said.

“Ultimately, we are playing for the win and for each other. Playing against France is always competitive, but we’re playing for England here.

“This is an unbelievable opportunity for everyone in the team. Playing for England is an absolute honour and you can’t take these types of moments for granted. You never know when they’re going to come again.

“The future is not guaranteed, but what we can guarantee is living in the present. For us, we want to go out there and play our game.

“We’re not just here to take part and make up numbers. We want to be confrontational and to win this game.”

Hooker Jamie George has spoken of the need to silence the Stade de France crowd as quickly as possible, an objective born out of the knowledge that the home fans can be a fickle audience.

If Les Bleus are firing they will be roared on, further lifting the team and generating hostility, but should they struggle then the supporters can be quick to turn against them in a manner not seen at other grounds.

“I think that’s probably a fair representation. They’re loud. They’re noisy. They love to support their team, especially when they’re doing well,” Itoje said.

“They perhaps go a little bit quiet when things aren’t going their way but when their team is on top and they have momentum, they’re amongst the loudest fans on the circuit.”

Among the most influential weapons in France’s armoury is defence coach Shaun Edwards, whose impact on the team has been to heighten their resilience as seen against Wales in the penultimate round.

Martin Gleeson, England’s attack coach, played rugby league for Wigan after Edwards had retired, but he knows the 55-year-old well and is full of admiration for his success in rectifying an area of France’s game that was previously inconsistent.

“Shaun has been unbelievable. He’s transformed them. It’s because of his simplicity in his message and he gets a buy-in from the lads,” Gleeson said.

“The lads respect him 100 per cent and they will go into the trenches for him. No matter where he goes, he seems to have success so I have nothing but respect for him, as a bloke and as a coach.

“There is a lot of excitement. France have got a lot to play for and so have we. But while it is notoriously hard to break Shaun’s defence down, we feel there are a couple of chinks in their armour.”

READ MORE: France to claim a first Grand Slam in 12 years by beating forlorn England

 

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England need to bring same intensity in Paris

Brian Liebenberg and Alex Lowe on England needing same intensity in Paris.