England v France
England prepared for battle of the forwards
Tom Hamilton
March 20, 2015
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Players/Officials: Graham Rowntree
Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations
Teams: England | France

Graham Rowntree is predicting a ferocious battle between the England and France packs on Saturday and has emphasised the need for his team to focus on their own performance rather than get sidetracked by events elsewhere.

The final weekend of the Six Nations sees four teams gunning for the title. England are the favourites to lift their first title since 2011 but it is expected to come down to points difference with England currently four ahead of Ireland and 25 up on Wales. For France to stand any chance of securing the championship, they need Italy to knock over Wales and for Scotland to see off Ireland.

England play last and by the time the match at Twickenham kicks off, they will know the number of points needed to claim the trophy. But Rowntree, who has spent the week preparing the forwards for their battle with the French pack, has highlighted the need for the team to be introspective rather than preoccupied with events in Rome and Edinburgh.

"Obviously we'll have an eye on them [the other games], but it's about us. It's an overused phrase, but it's about us and our performance. We've focused on that all week and the guys have performed really well in training this week," Rowntree said. "There is a real hunger and determination about the players this week. Any French team that comes to Twickenham is a handful, regardless of what's riding on it."

And on the prospects of winning their first title since 2011, Rowntree added: "It would certainly be a great experience for us. We could do with winning any championship, any trophy, but that will come on the back of performances."

The traditions of 'Le Crunch' normally dictate the match will have a firm emphasis on a battle for supremacy in the forwards and Saturday's match is likely to be little different. "They're always a real test. You don't get many tougher tests as a forward than playing against a French pack," was Rowntree's assessment.

To counter the French threat, England have made just one change with Geoff Parling replacing Dave Attwood in the second-row. Rowntree wants Parling to carry the ball in a similar fashion to the impact he made from the bench against Scotland last weekend and he has also levelled praise at Nick Easter.

On Thursday Stuart Lancaster spoke of his hope that Easter will give his team real go-forward when he is unleashed from the bench come Saturday and Rowntree's preparations have not only focused on the various tactics for England's pack but also an assessment of France's. Much has been made of the size of France's pack but Rowntree says their physical stature is not at the expense of mobility.

"Last weekend they used it [their size] to their advantage against Italy. They scrummed well against Italy and drove well. There aren't many teams doing that to Italy at the moment. I've no doubt they'll come to Twickenham looking to do the same.

"Two years ago we were lucky to win here. They played exceptionally well and that was a really tough day at the office for us up front. The forward battle is just one battle we'll have to win."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
Tom Hamilton is the Associate Editor of ESPNscrum.

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