Tom Wood has called on England to tighten up their discipline © Lee Mills for WRAPP

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Players/Officials: Tom Wood

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: England | France

England flanker Tom Wood has demanded that they tighten up their discipline prior to Saturday's make-or-break Six Nations clash with France at Twickenham.

The 24-year-old Northampton back-rower is only two games into his Test career but has become a worthwhile cog in an England machine that is beginning to purr following victories over Wales and Italy.

France also arrive in London this weekend with an unbeaten start to the tournament under their belts and Wood has highlighted the number of penalties conceded in the opening stages against the Azzurri two weeks ago as something that needs to be stamped out.

Marc Lievremont has recalled Biarritz's Dimitri Yachvili at scrum-half for the fixture, and his inclusion immediately brings back memories of six penalties sneaking a 18-17 win for Les Bleus in 2005.

"They're pretty impressive aren't they? When they turn it on they are difficult to stop," Wood said. "Their kickers are on form as well so you can't afford to give away too many penalties. You have to be smart and play the referee. We identified the referee's traits before the [Italy] game and we didn't really adhere to them. We got carried away and myself in particular, I gave a penalty away for being a bit too aggressive around the ball.

"We'd already acknowledged that was something the referee was very sharp on, we need to wise up a little bit there, there were a few dull penalties against Wales as well. We definitely have to wise up as a team because France will kick it from all over the place. Even if they're not within kicking range they have got a very strong forward game and will put you under pressure."

Wood benefited from a baptism of fire on his Test debut when tasked with shackling Wales at the Millennium Stadium and the former Worcester flanker quickly looked at home at international level. While he admits to a few pre-game jitters, he found that time spent with his understandably nervous family put into perspective his air of calm.

"I wasn't as bad as I thought I'de be," he said. "My family came down to watch and I had a cup of tea with them during the afternoon, it was a long day before the game.

"You could see how nervous and anxious they were, I was actually surprisingly calm. I tried to detach myself from it a little bit and try and conserve energy. I was going to be up for it, no question about that, it's just about trying to occupy your mind during the day so you don't over-stress about it. It was such a mega environment when we got there. The warm-up was so loud that I couldn't hear the guy next to me make a call. I started to get a bit tense then, definitely.

"The adrenaline is that much more, everyone is playing on that, the pace of the game is that much quicker. The skill level of each individual is higher so the ball stays in play longer, fewer knock-ons. Your time is cut down on everything."

England have been installed by many as favourites to win on Saturday and also to end their tournament drought by bagging a first Championship, and possibly Grand Slam, since 2003. For Wood, the bookies offer encouragement, but little more.

"You've got to take confidence from that but you can't get carried away with that kind of thing," he said. "Every team is capable of winning in this tournament. You only have to be off the boil by a few percent and you get overturned, even at home. If we beat France we'll be well on our way, but every game as it comes."

Tom Wood returned to Barkers' Butts RFC as part of at an England team appearance to support community rugby programme RBS RugbyForce, improving club facilities across the nation. To register your rugby club for the RBS RugbyForce Weekend on 11 & 12 June, click here.