“Swing lowwwwww, sweet chariotttttttt, coming for to carry me home”

This coming Saturday 20th March, England fans will be belting it out, urging Steve Borthwick’s team on against an unbeaten France in the finale to this years’ Six Nations. Tomas Mowlam weighs up their chances.

Things are tight at the top of the table, with Les Rosbifs in third place behind Ireland. If England could beat France, and Ireland lost to Scotland, England could take second place. More importantly however they could trample all over French dreams of taking their first Grand Slam since 2004.

(A victory for England, and an Irish hammering of the Scots could still see the trophy return to its rightful home – Dublin.)

England won’t have the comfort of Twickenham; instead they’ll be in the fortress of French rugby, the Stade de France. England have the better form however, having beaten France in every major game since 2006 Six Nations, including a 34-10 tanning of les bleus at Twickenham last year.

One of the main French dangers to England’s hopes is Mathieu Bastareaud; the 22-year-old, squat, squashed-face centre has proved a wrecking ball of a player, capable of exceptional speed and brute force.

England is not short on talent however, and the French coach Marc Lievremont told press: “We know that this English team is capable of playing better. They have not shown that so far in the tournament, or if they have, only at intermittent intervals.

“It is imperative we prepare well for their visit and that they will be at their best, we also have to recover from this match well and convince ourselves that we are facing a superb team.”

To win in the Stade de France, England needs pace, as the slow ball in the back row turned the Scottish game into a joyless, try-less mess. And if England hasn’t quite shown the pace of play in previous games, the fact that they are playing the old enemy should be enough to see some outstanding rugby on 20th March. So hop on the ferry and get yourself to Paris, it’s sure to be a party.

Image Credit: Frederic Humbert

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