France defeated England 25-20 in their World Cup warm-up on the back of an excellent game from Frederic Michalak who kicked 17 points to become France’s all-time leading scorer.
>>MATCH REPORT: France survive England comeback in warm-up
France 25 def. England 20
England and France lock horns again in a World Cup warm-up match, this time in Paris. Join The Roar from 5am (AEST) for all the action from the French capital.
England got the cash last weekend 19-14 at Twickenham, after a somewhat strange game. Anthony Watson scored two great tries, two debutants in Sam Burgess and Calum Clark got yellow-carded, but England held on for the win.
France were dominant in the forwards but outplayed in the backs. The Poms looked impressive in midfield, where Burgess was paired with Henry Slade, but their second-string pack struggled.
Different line-ups have been put together for this game, with England selecting a much stronger squad with a first-choice forward pack. Joe Marler, Tom Youngs and Dan Cole will pack down in the front row, with Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury in the second row and Chris Robshaw, James Haskell and Billy Vunipola in the back row.
Mike Brown is in at fullback for his first game since May, while Ben Youngs and George Ford will partner in the halves.
Robshaw is captain once again, while Billy Twelvetrees will surely see some game-time from the bench.
Debutant hooker Jamie George is also on the bench, but there was no place for league convert Burgess.
For France, big Mathieu Bastareaud is back in the centres, with Frederic Michalak at five-eighth, Wesley Fofana on the wing and Pascal Pape as skipper.
Influential French captain Thierry Dusautoir is again left out as he fights to return from injury, but it is a stronger 23-man outfit than took the field at Twickenham.
England’s scrum and lineout were wobbly last Saturday so how they perform in this game will be watched closely, and France will be fired up to get a win over their old rivals at the Stade de France.
Join The Roar from 5am (AEST) for commentary and highlights from Paris.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
m0b1us
Guest
Remeber, it's only a warm up game. If they play as badly as that against Fiji then you''ll be right to be concerned. A lot of those players didn't want to get injured before the final squad was announced.
Tycoch
Guest
Yes - Australia and Fiji. Bet the house on it - bookies will give you good odds, but what do they know
Shineblocker
Guest
England's set plays were really poor. This identity crisis with the notable fitness regime they were on to trim down weight and keep the ball in play more has killed their scrum, immensely. The breakdown is a let down for England also as Chris Robshaw is not a world class number 7. I am tipping Australia and Fiji to go through in the pool of death ...
144
Roar Guru
Bloody hell the English have alot of work to do. I know the scoreline doesn't look as if they were hit hard but they were down by plenty at half time and the next few minutes of the second half. Not too sure what their problem is.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Dunno, in 2011 the SXV final was two weeks prior to the first pool match, yet here we have five weeks since Eden park so enough time for another round but a squeeze for oz with the USA match. For NZ and SA we sure get a bit of a break and we could play some ITM if we needed to top up. But yeah it does seem a bit of a quiet period.
RobC
Roar Guru
Gday John, thanks for the call! Just saw the replay The game was played almost entirely within the Eng 40m. Eng 2nd row scrums were poor. LO bad. BD non existent. Sloppy ruck challenges. Marler committed a schoolboy mistake in D, letting through a 7 pointer Fr, Forwards won collisions and BD and hemmed the Poms in D territory. Fr dropped their guard in the last 15'. Dani C, what a player. 36 not.
RobC
Roar Guru
100%. bring back Mike Harris! He can learn to throw a few lineouts too
Mike Julz
Guest
This team was supposed to be close to Englands best 15, and they loss. Lancester has the same problem as Cheika, he doesn't really know his 1st 15. Only a couple of players are a sure starters, the rest is up for grabs.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Agree bakkies, dont get psa's love for tales. Maybe he will keep both tales and ftd and dump kockott, using michalak as back up/ 3rd 9. I liked our pack a lot, except debaty and atonio who are poor scrummagers. These guys remind me of kotze the saffa who got a couple of caps a few years back. We havd a tradition of strong, small and stocky scrummagers why bring 195cm blokes who dont fit in our pack and cant scrum! This drives me mental. my only worry is the back 3. Spedding is ok but very one dimensional and I would still have dulin over him. Nakaitaci isnt at 100% and shouldnt be here. Only huget is ok, guitoune isnt great either. I think medard would have been a better choice.
Bakkies
Guest
Shades of the match in Paris two years ago where France played strongly but England actually managed to get the lead. Fickou scored a class try to get the win for France.
Bakkies
Guest
Tin Duck might get the boot. That was pretty close to France's top team and Tales was the bench flyhalf.
Bakkies
Guest
Doesn't help practically the whole tight 5 was changed. Replacements struggling in scrums seems to be a common theme across recent matches. Wales v Ireland apart as Wales were destroyed from start to finish practically ended Hibbard's RWC hopes as they are.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Agree taylor. Those games are pure friendlies and just here to cut 5 guys out of a 36 list. I think WR just want to give all rugby games a 'test status' but for countries like england or france who play many sports where friendlies have a place this is clear this game wasnt at 6N and rwc intensity. If WR really wants to take all gamez into account they should at least give them less importance, say 1/3 of a normal 6N. Rwc, RC game.
wardad
Guest
Might be a bit punch drunk after tho'!
wardad
Guest
I dont see why the RC was shortened up this year ,an extra 2 games would come in handy and still give time to fix any niggles or injuries. SH teams may well be a tad underdone going in but I suppose pool games will help except in Australias case .Into the lions den for them ! Any thoughts on that Taylorman ?
taylorman
Roar Guru
Ha ha true...but at least he'll be sober when that one hits him... :-)
taylorman
Roar Guru
Odd that these get included for the rankings. They should make them England A type matches as they are clearly trial matches where not the best side is selected, and no trophy is up for grabs. If it weren't for the World cup they wouldn't happen. England won't care one bit about the actual result, but the will question their ability to start.
wardad
Guest
I dunno ,that big black bus could cause him some pain too !
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Hi WB, he's still the captain, just back from injury but he will start next friendly against Italy. PSA will announce the squad later today but Dusautoir will be in. 5 guys to be omitted: kockott, atonio, Vahaa, Dumoulin or Lamerat, and Nakaitaci for me. Oz and france not as bad as expected I like it!!!
Worlds Biggest
Guest
NOS, is Dusatiour in the mix or has he retired from Internationals ?