Even without Marc Lievremont\u2019s admission that he hates the English the anticipation for Le Crunch would have been huge. The outcome looks likely to decide the Six Nations Championship and, in all probability, whether England can claim a first Grand Slam since 2003, they same year that they went on to lift the World Cup. You might have heard that there\u2019s a Rugby World Cup later in 2011.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty of opportunity for traders in the match. As is usually the case with France, we\u2019re never sure whether they\u2019ll display their extraordinary talents or fail to gel as a team. We do know that Les Bleus took a while to get going against Ireland a fortnight ago and when faced with a barrage of sound from a fired-up Twickenham perhaps the same should be expected of them this weekend. Back England now at 1.5 as I\u2019d only expect that to shorten in the first quarter of the match.<\/p>\n
Total points is interesting as although we\u2019ve seen that both teams play open rugby and we might expect plenty of scoring opportunities, in the opening matches we\u2019ve also seen that games have been won or lost in the forwards. Two solid packs may cancel each other out, so I would reserve judgement for this one just now.<\/p>\n
With six tries to his name already in this tournament, Chris Ashton is unsurprisingly favourite to score the first try at 7.8. It\u2019s a fairly brave move but I\u2019d be keener to lay. The French have changed their side to apparently pack out the midfield, as well as having sacrificed the slight Clement Poitrenaud for the bulkier Maxime Medard at fullback. I think the French will pay extra attention to Ashton tomorrow and England coach Martin Johnson will know that. Expect the first try to come from elsewhere.<\/p>\n